When I see my brother at work, almost every time, I am overcome by a wave of emotions. It brings this immense feeling of pride and gratefulness to see him thriving. I know he is exactly where he belongs. He is sitting in his calling. And it makes me weep (spiritually weep, not physically weep…usually) with gratitude for how God has protected him and guided him here. Every step of the way, God has been two steps ahead paving the way, two steps behind doing damage control and right next to him holding him up in the twists and turns.
My brother was not always who he is now. Now, he is a man of terribly strong faith, humility, confidence, perseverance, patience and gentleness. Before Christ, he lacked in some of these traits. If you want to hear his full story, you’ll have to talk to him. I was lucky enough to get a front row seat to his transformation when he accepted Christ. Seriously. He went from barely tolerating me (he’s 18 months older) to texting and calling me everyday. It was kind of annoying. I thought, ‘that poor boy has no friends and now has to turn to his least favorite sister.’ Tragic. But also, I loved it and soaked up every second of his attention. He is my best friend. (And I’m his. If you know him, you know he’ll never admit it. But it is completely true. Trust me. I can’t lie on a blog)
What’s the point of this blog you might be wondering? Why am I going on about my brother?
Because if you know me, you know that I am absolutely in LOVE with the Lord Jesus Christ. He turned my life around. I used to party a lot. I found joy in the bar scene. I found confidence in the bottle. Jesus changed ALL of that for me. He gave me a new purpose, new identity, new hope. How?
That’s where Jesse, the brother, comes in. Jesse gave his life to Christ and chased after his calling, but didn’t forget what it was all for. Jesse came back for me. He never told me I was too far gone or I missed my chance. He called and texted (he lived 8 hours away) to pour life into my dry bones. He told me I had potential. Great potential, but I wasn’t living in it. Jesse found God, then became a disciple of God. He discipled me. Jesse was the vessel by which God pursued me. He found God’s love and shared it with me. He does that a lot now. He is constantly sharing God’s love with everyone he meets. Now I get to share it with people all around the world. I would not have this immense privilege if Jesse had not been obedient. Through our obedience people can find Christ.
And I am sharing all of this with you because today is Jesse’s birthday. And birthday’s are meant to celebrate people and what they mean to you. So here’s to you, Jess! For being my support system, my cheerleader, and the vessel to get me to follow Jesus. Thank you for showing me Christ’s love. Happy birthday, Jesse!
