Missing family is something that happens pretty often here. I miss watching ball games with them, playing sports with my brothers, worshiping with them at church, and really miss all the great conversations had on the deck while drinking a cold Sun-Drop as the sun falls below the horizon. My brother got engaged the weekend before I jumped on a plane across the pond. This was a time of great excitement for my family and myself, but also I felt a little sadness at thinking that my brother was going to get married and I was going to have to watch through the internet. I am only about 18 months apart in age from my brother and this led to us being pretty darn close. To say that we spent a lot of time together as children would be like saying a tiger is just a cat or the SEC is just another football conference it just would not do it justice. We did pretty much everything together. We rode bus 25 to school together. Played every sport together and played together everyday of the summer. We played baseball in the yard, pretended to be Michael and Scottie on our dunk goal. We shot each other with “guns” and dressed up as Batman and Robin. We rode our bikes on every trail we could find, and one of our favorite things to do was hunt snakes in the creek behind the house. We along with my cousin Charlie, good friend Joe, and younger brother Chris, when he was up to it, never stopped playing. My brother was my best friend and I was his. I wanted to be at his wedding and the thought of missing it was going to be one of the biggest regrets of my life.
The Big Guy smiled on me though and made some things happen and last weekend I was in my hometown to be there to watch one of my heroes marry the love his life. I not only was able to watch but was able to officiate his wedding. It was truly one of the greatest honors of my life. I was also able to make it home without him knowing I was coming and got to see a look on my brothers face I had never seen before. I thought about filming that moment when I walked into his classroom but I will be honest I wanted that moment forever to myself. I will tell you about if you want to know, but I could never replicate that look.
This past weekend got me thinking a lot about my time as young boy. I thought about my brother and my cousin and the time we spent together. I thought a lot about our time in high school. What a joy it was to be only one year behind my brother. I would highly recommend having your children close in age if you can. Nothing was better than getting ready to run another play in football and looking at my brothers back and know that no man could give more effort than he would be giving to get me into the end-zone. I have a respect for him that seconds probably only the respect I have for my father. I learned a lot from him and that is what I am going to write about. These are just a few of the many things I learned from my brother.
1. You stand up for what you believe in – There are really to many stories to recount here, but you don’t usually have to question where my older brother stands. He isn’t the most vocal guy in the world, but wavering on his beliefs is not part of his character. He makes up his mind and is way to bull headed to change. His convictions are unwavering.
2. Cheating is not an option – I appreciate this about my older brother, but to say that it didn’t lead to balls being thrown at each other would be lying. This trait though has carried over to today and you can often passionately hear him talk about one of his players or his team getting wronged. He will never forger such a wrong, and will do all he can to right such a wrong. Life is not fair, but when we have the power to change should we really just watch from the sideline?
3. Family is important and you fight for them – I remember a time in elementary school while playing soccer an older boy decided he did not like what I had done. I can not think of any thing I was have done as cocky little kid, but he was there fist raised and ready to fight. In that moment there was a problem for him, staring him down was my brother. That fight never happened. I also avoided a little hazing in football as my older and more respected brother was not in the business of letting that happen to me. I am not advocating fighting here, but it is nice to know that your family is always there for you.
4. You are always true to yourself – I am by no means the most stylish guy in world. I try not to make to many fashion mistakes, but my brother has different thoughts. He is a lover of wearing socks with sandals. This is not a fashion statement for him, but simply him not caring. He is a guy that likes to wear socks with sandals. I have pleaded with him often not to, but he likes it that way. I need a lot more of this attitude in my life, but I will not be wearing socks with sandals anytime soon. I should care a lot less about what people think though.
5. You always support your family – When I was a freshman in high school. I had one of the best days in my life when I made the basketball team, but one thing that would have made this better is if my brother had made the team. He was left off the roster though. I had no idea how Nathan would handle this. I know if the positions had been switched I probably would not have been too happy. My older brother was a bigger man. I have been forever humbled by his support of me over the next couple of years. He cheered and cheered for me on the front row of the student section. He showed more love to me that an arrogant younger brother was ever deserving of receiving. Should we not rejoice in our brother success even when we may fell like we failed? We are selfish people though.
6. Vacations are alright – My brother is a school teacher and this leads to him having a lot of time off in the summer. I would probably spend this time seeing the world. He sees this as a chance of telling more people about the King. I think we could all do better to spend less time worrying about making it to the beach and a little more time making His name great.
7. Cartoons can still make you laugh – One of my favorite things to do is to sit around with my brothers and cousin and talk about the shows we spent our Saturday mornings watching. GI Joes, Transformers, Thunder Cats and He-Man were a few of our favorites. Such lesser known classics as DinoRiders, Jabber Jaws, and Voltron can also bring a smile to our faces. He doesn’t really watch them anymore, but I think we could all do better to look back at these memories. We should all try to recapture that feeling of joy and happiness that could only be felt by watching Snake Eyes and Sergeant Slaughter defeat Cobra or maybe if you are of the female gender you enjoyed a good Care Bear Stare. Life is to short to not enjoy a little laughter at the simpler things.
8. Believing in someone is sometimes the best thing you can do – I know math is a difficult subject for some. My brother though chose this as his profession. He teaches math to high schoolers. This seems like a pretty daunting task. He is not always a big fan of the effort that some of his students make, but he never doubts that a single one can do the work. He not only believes they can, but is willing to do what it takes to show that he believes. So often I want to write people off and move to those that can get the work done, but for Nathan that is not the answer. Everyone needs someone to believe in them at times. Nathan is the one that always believes.
9. Board Games are better than TV – Nathan has a stack of board games that would shock Milton Bradley. I am fan also and have spent many longs nights trying to beat him. Often on those nights, I am drug out from in front of the TV to play. I had a nice bag of chips and a coke and was ready to veg out, but older brother would have none of it. I never regret putting down the remote and playing a game. It is not the game though I enjoy so much, it is the time with my family laughing and cutting up that I got from turning off the TV that made it worth it. If you get the idea to play Nathan in any game that can sit on top of a table, you should be prepared to walk away a loser, but know the time spent around that table will make it worth it.
10. God makes her – I do not believe in the idea of “the one.” This thought that God has predestined one girl for anyone seems to go against the idea of free will the Word gives to us. I believe in this decision we have free will, but Nathan almost makes me believe other wise. Nathan has been searching for the girl that he would marry for quite some time, but has never been to aggressive in pursing her. He has dated some, but you always knew he was patiently waiting for her. I always felt if he found that one girl that made him smile on his worst days that he would stop at nothing to make her his. That is what he did. When God opens doors for us we could do a little better to run wildly to the will of our King.
My brother is an incredible guy. He has been a worthy example for my brothers and I. He is a hero of mine that I always want to be proud of me. I have not always been as good an older brother to my younger brothers, but it was not because he was a bad example. He could write a book on being a brother, that we would all do good to read. We all have those people that we are inspired by. We have brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, grandparents, pastors and teachers, and good friends that push us towards greatness. Who are your heroes, your inspirations, and your mentors? How have that helped form the person you are today? Maybe we should take a little time to thank them.
Thanks Nathan, I love you.
