Brothers

I was an only child. I never had a true sibling as I was growing up. I had a lot of close friends and was babysat by a wonderful woman who is still like a mom to me. There were three children in their family and I got to witness sibling rivalry up close and personal. The family I lived with was two older brothers and a younger sister who was my age. I remember witnessing some literal knock-down, drag-out fights as I sat in a chair. The brother and sister of the family would get so angry and sometimes physical with one another. The woman who babysat for me would always resolve the arguments. Each child would end up in their rooms, separated until they could work out their disagreements in a peaceable manner.

This type of conflict always confounded me because even though they argued, this was one of the most loving families in the world. They truly adored one another and were fiercely protective of one another. I couldn't understand how siblings could get in such a disagreement one moment and be such good friends the next. Now that I have my own children, I'm starting to understand these types of disagreements. The Bible says on Proverbs 17:17 that "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Yesterday, the boys argued non-stop in the car ride home from camping until they fell asleep. I drive a mini-van and normally they each have their own seat. This minimizes the hands-on and feet on contact in the van. However, we had so much gear from the weekend that I had to put the back seat down and they had to share one very small, 2 person seat. They were both exhausted and were sad we had to leave the lake. Their frustrations with life came out at one another. I did the whole "IF YOU DO THAT ONE MORE TIME I'M STOPPING THIS VAN AND YOU'LL BE SORRY!" spiel. They pushed the envelope, I stopped the van and at that point, what consequence do you really have? I mean, they're already strapped in a seat at a sort of three hour time-out as we travel. So, we sat there until they apologized to one another and settled down drove another 40 miles or so and then repeated the process. This went on until they both fell asleep. When they did fall asleep, it was as they rested against one another. When they were awake, tired and grumpy, they didn't want to be beside one another, but as they relaxed, they truly found comfort in each other.



As people, we are a lot like that. We are on a car ride with our brothers and sisters called life. God created a great adventure for us to be on and put us in a car together. Sometimes we have a wonderful time with our siblings experiencing life. They can be our best friends, but also our rivals. Sometimes we argue and disagree. Our Father may may dole out consequences so we learn to get along with one another. At the end of the day, we need to learn from those consequences and find comfort in one another. We may not always get along, but we should go through this life realizing that we are all in this adventure together. We can either argue or take comfort in each other's presence. How do you want to spend your ride? In conflict or in peace with one another.

Personally, I can't stand conflict and right now I am in a major conflict in my personal life. I really just want the conflict to be resolved so that I can enjoy the ride in peace. Please keep me in your prayers as this conflict seeks to get worked out legally.

Last night, I went to do my nightly check in on the boys as I always do I came across both boys sleeping in Joey's bed. It melted my heart. I know that at the end of the day they truly love one another and find comfort in being together. My prayer is that they will always realize how much they love one another and want to be together. This will serve them well as they go through life. God has given them each a best friend. Two little boys that were born halfway across the country (Joey in Texas and Danny in Maryland) were brought together to be brothers. I pray that they will grow to understand what a miracle this truly is!

So, let us strive to dwell together in peace sharing this car ride we call life in unity.

Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity"