My Brother

Today is my brother's 47th birthday. Instead of wishing him happy birthday, I'm gonna do the next best thing I can do and pay tribute to him.  I want to share a few things I have learned throughout the years from my big brother.

He taught me to be a tom boy. We played with Matchbox cars all the time. We would make race tracks in the dirt for our cars with little hills to jump. We always played with those plastic horses, too. That is until I would lean too hard on a horse and break its leg. Then he got angry with me and we would have to stop playing for the day.  I tried to play Lincoln Logs with him and build erector buildings with him, too, but I wasn't too good at either of those. We used to shoot his BB guns, but I guess I wasn't too good at that either since I shot him in the leg once. That's when he taught me that Mom didn't  need to know everything we did.

He taught me not only to take care of my parents, but to be there and have it done before they even know they need it.

He taught me to make my no be a no and my yes be a yes.  Steve knew what he wanted and what he didn't want and that was it.  Period.  There was no wishy-washy and no guessing on what he wanted. When his mind was made up that was it and you knew it.

He taught me to pursue my dreams. Find something I like and make it happen. Steel Kreations was his hobby he turned into a business. And that boy was talented. If someone wanted a design, he made it happen, and it happened with excellence.

He taught me to think about what others were thinking.  Let me clarify, not to think about what others think of  you. He couldn't have given a rat's a** about what others thought about him. And that's a good lesson as well.  But what I mean is that he was constantly thinking of others' needs and wants.  He did more than just think of them; he acted on it. He gave the most thoughtful gifts, and he helped others whenever or however they needed it, without any thought of getting something in return.

He taught me do the things you love with the people you love.

He taught me to take time to do the little things to show my family how much I love them.

I wish he would have taught me to be a better cook.  Man, he could smoke a mean meat, can some tasty cinnamon pickles, and whip up some fantastic pies.

My husband wishes he would have taught me his organizational skills. He has a million tools in his shop, each one has its own little home, and it stays there. One could not merely sneak in and out of his shop because he would know you were there every time.

There is such a hole in our hearts. It will never be filled again. It hurts.

God did not make this happen, but He will help us get through it. He tells us we will share abundantly in Christ's sufferings and through Christ we will share abundantly in comfort too. 2 Cor 1:5  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matt. 5:4  And Psalm 30:5b tells us weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

God promises to comfort us who are left here on earth without Steve. But He assures us even better things for Steve and all those we have lost. 1 John 2:25 This is the promise he made to us--eternal life.

Our God is a god of love. We know he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Cor. 4:18

For the rest of our lives in this world, we will miss you so much, Steve.  But I trust in the Lord that I will see you again.