Welcome to Day #9 in the series on my brother. I continue to describe my brother’s uncanny ability to share spiritual truth, at just the right time and in just the right way, in today’s post.
Brian
is fabulous at picking out just the right birthday card for
people. The amazing thing is, he just walks into the store and picks one out
right away, and it is totally fitting and appropriate for the person. He
should hire out his service on this one!
Brian used to play with action figures a lot growing up. He
would have them tackle each other like they were playing football. He
also piled them up in various arrangements (my dad’s father called them his
tableaus).
My brother went through a time when the action figures became the
disciples from the Bible. He would act out scenes from the Bible with
them. One time, when he received a new toy as a gift, he opened it and
said, “James, son of Alphaeus!”
My brother really likes to watch The 10 Commandments with Charlton Heston. He also likes to watch The Greatest Story Ever Told, which also has Charlton Heston in it. He calls this movie, The Greatest Story Never Told. What a challenge that is to us all- to make sure that The Story (the gospel) is told.
I mentioned Granny (my mom’s mother) in some earlier posts. In the early 90’s she had lung cancer, and a bad cough that accompanied it. I remember one time, when we were all around the formal dining room table at my grandparents’ house, Granny started coughing a lot and we all stopped talking and just watched her in sad silence; unsure of what to do or say. My mom reminded me that Brian walked over to Granny one time, after a coughing spell, and learned on the arm of her chair, looked right at her, and said, “Be brave…because Jesus was brave.”
Later Granny told my mom that his comment was just the right thing to say and brought her much comfort.
After Granny died, Brian told my mom, “This is what Jesus said when Granny got to heaven, ‘Hi Granny, I want you to meet my friends.'”
This brought my mom a lot of comfort and peace.
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.”
“Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life;
So inspiring!
I have just caught up on your posts and this one has left me in tears. I wish everyone would read this series and learn to embrace and appreciate the gifts that God gives all of us, even the supposed "least" who often display the most. Blessings to you and to Brian.
oh! I'm crying too. I have a brother with Asperger's Syndrome, and he is similarly gifted! Writes beautiful, scriptural poetry, is super insightful with picking out gifts. When my first daughter was born he wrote her a poem/song with the refrain, "Gloria, Gloria, she was sent from God to light up our world, and she shines all around!" (her name is Gloria) Thank you for sharing your brother's story – I'm off to read the rest as long as my babies keep napping! 🙂