He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother

Here is a recent photo, taken in the aftermath of some family celebrating. We had a wonderful time honoring my mom for Mother's Day while my aunt and uncle passed through town on their way from Florida to Pennsylvania.



We do a lot of celebrating during this time of year and with good reason. Not only is my mom a star, but today is my brother's birthday. He's not the sort to celebrate himself, so permit me to do it for him.

Some reasons to celebrate my brother Dave...

He is a gifted, godly leader.

He is very useful in the kitchen. Around this time of year, he will head to the fields, pick scads of berries and then begin experimenting with various recipes. Depending on the success of his experiments, he may deliver some of his confections to friends and family.

Though the only family member who does not earn a living by teaching, he is a talented Bible teacher.

He married an awesome woman.

He has an amazing memory for statistics. Dave can probably tell you the date when Mike Schmidt hit his 548th home run and the batting average of the shortstop on Guilford College's softball team. Unfortunately, he probably can't tell you much about his childhood travels to Rome, Paris or Greece.

Some really difficult things have happened to him and, though challenged, he and his wife have managed to say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

It frustrates me that Dave could probably go out and run 5 miles tonight, even though he hasn't worked out recently. For all my devotion to treadmills and ellipticals, I couldn't even come close to that. Nevermind, I'm not sure that's worth celebrating...

All this to say, I am so thankful for my brother and the way God is moving in his life. Happy birthday, Dave!