“A friend loves at all times, but a brother was born for
times of adversity." ~ Proverbs 17:17
At 16, Alex’s little brother was
the misery of her life. What a
brat! Nearly six years her junior, Brian
was so annoying. He frequently walked into
Alex’ room whenever he felt like it! He
just pushed open the door and walked in, without even asking permission! In Alex’s mind, Brian was breaking and
entering, a crime that should be severely punished.
Of course Mom offered little help. She always saw everything Brian’s way. For instance, Brian often snuck up behind her
and without warning, stabbed a pen into Alex’ back. When Alex pushed him away harmlessly, Brian
fell dramatically, screaming and bawling until Mom entered the room to see what
was going on.
Of course she sided with cute little Brian while rocking him
back and forth on her lap and giving Alex (who by now had a noticeable mark on
her back and was in some pain), a horribly evil glare that says, "I'll
talk to you later about this one, young lady."
That day, 6-year-old “baby” brother went into Alex’s room as
usual uninvited. This was the last straw
– time to teach the little cretin a message once and for all she thought. Alex clenched her fist and yelled at Brian
without even looking up. When it was
obvious that Brian remained undeterred, Alex turned around to yell again. She noticed Brian had offered a plate of
homemade peanut butter cookies (her favorite).
“Sorry,” Brian acknowledged, “I just wanted to share these with
you."
That incident took place almost 21 years ago. Brian never really got to enjoy his life because
he was always working, trying to make a living so when he got older he could
enjoy it. He never got that
chance, cheated
by a monster called cancer.
Over the years, Brian and Alex had become much more than siblings. They were best friends. Alex always believed that they would grow old
together someday living next door to each other. She never expected they’d part company so
soon.
They used to laugh about those old days and all the tricks
Brian use to pull off on Alex. Now her
heart ached for one of Brian’s childish, irritating pranks. Her soul missed a very important part.
In all generations there will always be siblings annoying each
other. The moral to the above story is, as much as siblings can annoy us on a
daily basis, family is everything! You
do (in most cases) love your brothers or sisters more than they will ever know. As adults, those ‘annoying sibling antics' mature
into 'fond memories.'
Heavenly Father, thank you for brothers and
sisters (in Christ) who never grow old. We
know each other as we always were. We
know each other's hearts. We share
private family jokes. We remember family
feuds and secrets, family pains and sorrows. We live outside the burden of time. Amen
