After I started into grade-school and heard story after story related to sibling relationships, I soon figured out there was something unique about my brother and me. We got along! Dave was three years older than me and I had never been locked in a closet, had a toad put in my bed, ate a hamburger patty made out of dog food, or had my braids tied in a knot while I slept. I couldn’t imagine. I was convinced I had the best brother in the whole world.
It seemed that Dave always knew what to do when I didn’t, and he always had my back. Two incidents come to mind immediately. When I was five he rescued me from the country school outhouse when I accidentally locked myself in. Once I realized what had happened, I had something between a temper tantrum and a panic attack. My screaming and pounding went unnoticed in the distant schoolhouse. The stinky air closed in on me and I could have sworn it was getting darker by the minute in that obtrusive structure. I began to envision my mother’s tears as they found my bones later that year.
Miss Libby, having finished reading class with the mid grades, realized I had been absent for longer than it usually takes to take care of any business. She sent Dave out to check. I tumbled out of that outhouse into daylight, fresh air, and a brother – that had no cape – but looked a lot like Mighty Mouse. He had certainly saved my day as the Might Mouse theme song proclaims. I never forgot it – as you can tell.
About a year after that incident, I again needed Dave’s help. A stranger came to my classroom door (we were now consolidated with the nearby town of Osmond, Nebraska) and asked if he could speak to me. My teacher left the shyest sheep of her flock in the hallway with this unknown man and returned to the others. That wouldn’t happen in this day, but this was 1960 when a person’s word meant something and trust was the norm. This Tom Allan from the Omaha World Herald was very friendly, but I was befuddled by what the quick speaking man was telling me. By the end of the school day, I was nearly in tears with no idea what I was suppose to do. But then, I remembered Dave! I ran to the curb where we always waited for the bus and I poured out my troubling problem knowing he would know what to do. After all – he was in 4th grade.
“We will just go home like we always do on the bus. You can tell Mom and Dad and they’ll figure it out.” I breathed a sigh of relief. We climbed on the bus together and the world was good again. When we burst through the kitchen door – there was the man at our kitchen table. Mom was feeding him donuts and coffee so I knew all was truly well. As it turned out, he only wanted a picture of me and Barney (one of Dad’s old plow horses) to go along with a story my grandfather had suggested.
Over the years, I learned that Dave couldn’t be there every time I had a problem. But, I also learned that our Heavenly Father is there through every storm we encounter. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, Do not fear for the Lord your God goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. And likewise Joshua 1:9 tells us that God is with us wherever we go.
No matter how bad our circumstances might get, God is right beside us. He encourages us to unload our burdens onto Him (1 Peter 5:7) and then He fights our battles for us. (II Chronicles 20:17)
We have no idea how 2021 will play out for us, but God knows. I encourage you to do what I intend to do – hold onto my hat – stand firm against the winds – and let God fight the battle(s).
Until next month – keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.