brothers

say happy 21st to nathan.

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

i spent the evening catching up with two men i need to see far more often, my brothers. after the family dinner - nathan, stephen and i went to the mews tavern, ordered a beer, and preceded to talk for a few hours about...

-the base ball game that was on
-john mayer, wilco, and the nature of pop vs indie music trends
-d-40's
-belichick's drama
-the upcoming year
-and family.

it was the last point that was the most compelling. we talked about our parents and the homes they've come from. how much we credit them with breaking destructive patters and sin in their family tree. how we will be free of so much baggage because of their faithfulness and perseverance.

we of course spoke of the negatives we've inherited, the particular scars that remain, but how wonderful it was to see that the hope that had come before us had yielded such a harvest. how there was hope for us, as brothers (and sister who isn't quite old enough for a night at the mews). hope for a future of love, support, encouragement, rebuke...life together. i had a few moments tonight where i saw us 20 yrs from now with our wives and husband and our parents, and maybe our children - sitting at home sharing, laughing, joking, with each other in the holiest of ways.

here's to a beautiful night brothers. (raise your pint)

i write something like this on a public blog in hopes that others might be reminded of family and it's vital (and often hurtful, i know) role in our lives. maybe you should call your mom, pray for your siblings, or forgive what needs to be forgiven.

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck