This past weekend I had to go home to babysit for someone from my mom’s work. I didn’t really want to go home at all because some things just get annoying, but I had to. I babysat Friday night and was gonna leave Saturday afternoon. I texted my brother, Zack to see if he wanted to go to lunch before I left and he said yes, so we went to eat at Fuzzy’s and just caught up on each other’s lives. I was super excited to see him because I hardly get to see him really. Out of all the people in my family, he’s my favorite one to just talk to. He just gets me. So anyways, after we were done eating and we were about to leave, he told me to hold on, then he took out his wallet and gave me a 100 dollar bill. I was a tad confused and didn’t want to accept it, but he told me to take it because he didn’t want me to have to worry about things like that. I had mentioned going to New Orleans in March earlier while we were talking, but I don’t think I really said anything to make him think I was worried about money. I mean, I stress about it a lot because I hate asking my parents for money and I want to go to New Orleans and possibly even Venezuela this summer, which all costs money. So, I’m gonna use the money he gave me to pay for my “down payment” on the New Orleans trip. Anyways, this post isn’t supposed to me about money. I’m thankful he gave it to me, but at the end of the day…it’s just money. Like I said earlier, my brother just gets me. I’ve never been an outwarldly emotional person really. I don’t like to show if I’m upset and people thing I don’t get excited about things..but I do..just on the inside. That’s why I love that he can read me so well, because not a lot of people can. Some can, but not as well as him.

 I remember when my parents had just divorced, me and him were really the only ones who saw what was wrong with it. My younger sisters were too young to care, or maybe just too scared to disagree with our parents, and my older sister honestly just didn’t care. She’s always been one who goes with the flow. I remember one time I had been with everyone in my family all day, just hanging out, and the moment Zack saw me, he asked me what was wrong. No one in my family knew that I was upset about something and they had been with me all day, but Zack saw me for one second and just knew. That’s why I’ve always confided in him. I call him crying, and he listens. The first week of school, he visited me twice just to see how I was doing and to make sure I was okay. The first week I was gonna visit FBC, I asked him to come with me because I felt weird going to another church besides TBC, so he came. The thing is, there’s 4 more sisters that he does the exact same stuff for. He takes every single one of us out for our birthdays every year. He lets us pick where we want to eat, what we want to do, and literally dedicates a full day to us. I’ve always believed that he’s the best big brother in the world. And honestly, I still do. He’s real, he’s genuine, he’s kind, compassionate, caring, loving, and even when we don’t see each other for a long time, I still consider him my closest friend.

As I was thanking God for my brother, part of a verse popped into my head. The second part of Proverbs 18:24 “but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” If I had to pick an earthly person who loves me the most, it would be my brother. But, even though he loves me, cares for me, and gets me…it doesn’t compare with the love that Jesus Christ has for me. My brother is just a small picture of Christ’s love for me, which is so crazy and hard for me to understand. Christ loves me so much more than my brother ever could, and he understands me more than Zack does and even more than I understand myself. God shows tiny glimpses of His love, care, kindness, compassion, and understanding of me through my brother and I’m beyond thankful for this.

Oh yeah..I love this dude.