Heart To Heart

 I recently took a trip far away to visit an older convalescing brother.  He's on the mend from some major surgery that has had him holed up for several weeks.  He's out of the deep woods, but still has a few miles to go before he's back to his old self.  It was not a vacation, but rather a trip for the heart, one of those things that's good to do for the ailing, especially when its blood, and especially because he's dear.

I took the trip with another older brother (from the same mother), who turned out to be a fine travelling companion and a source of inspiration in his own way.  He's a great guy.  If you looked up the word "nice" in Webster's you would find his picture beside it.  He's the kind of guy that would say "Thank you so much for your hospitality", if you served him a stale digestive cookie and a glass of warm water.  He's a "cup half full" type, and the guy you want on your team when you're down 6-0. He's also the chap that dresses neat for any occasion, parts his hair the same way for the last 40 years, and cuts his toast and jam in 4 different quadrants, and eats each one with a fork and knife.  He' s the one that would make up the bed at a hotel before room service came along, plus wipe down the bathroom, and fold the towels, and still leave a tip at the end of his stay.  He'll say words like poop, fudge, and darn as substitutes for the expletives most of us would want to utter in certain situations.  A model of decency that boy....I'm jealous.

I'm not much like him at all

It's amazing how families turn out and how different one child can be from the next. Most parents
realize this at an early age, and I suppose there's both humour and grief in how that all manifests itself as siblings grow older.  Personalities often conflict, and many a family has been torn apart due to ballooning ego's, the unwillingness to truly forgive, and the hardening of hearts we won't allow to soften.  I'm thankful for a family that (for the most part) can put a lot of this aside and still be there for each other in times of need.  Oh, but that doesn't always mean things are rosy in Vanderville. We do still experience our share of spats, brokenness, sadness, and regrets. I'm not so sure that will ever go away completely. But that's alright, we're plugging along together.

My mom and dad have passed on some time ago, but like any parent I'm sure they would be happy this was so.  However, I'm thankful and confident that I have an eternal Father that delights in forgiveness, doing away with ego's, and the softening hearts.  I pray that you and others may see and experience this yourself one day! Take a moment to send a card or an email, or make a phone call and just say "Hey".

It's good for the heart.