Linking with my brother is always a great experience. He knows me well enough to wind me up, sometimes just for fun. He understands my sensitivities and works to respect values I hold important. He values my thoughts and comments, taking the time when we are together to share his journey with all the ups and downs. His consistency over the years in working to make me feel welcome and part of his family reveals a strong depth of love and caring.
I do wonder at his experience. There is much in his life I admire and some that I do not understand. As different as we are, there is much that binds us together. Two children, wives that we admire and enjoy being with, a willingness to tackle tough jobs with a resolve that will not accept defeat, and a strong sense of our own weakness.
In areas that we are different I find myself fearful of the future. It is easy to fear what is not one’s choice. My black and whites are another’s gray and reds. I cannot see his path clear which is not really surprising since I find myself blind to my own journey.
Over the years I have reached an understanding with God about our experiences. I look at the measures of grace in our lives and I know God is doing his stuff. I see too much going on; too many coincidences, and far too much unconditional acceptance of others to even begin to think that God is not working. “That’s why [I]/we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (Romans 8.28)
We talked into the early morning hours, unwilling to lose the chance of being together. We laughed, share, commiserated, and schemed. I come away from the experience with a sense of having experienced God’s caring touch. In many ways I find myself thinking of you and the same feeling of having spent time with God, sensing the Presence, when we are together.
Thanks, for everything.
