A Brother's Word.

 A Brother’s Word.

 

Though we were brought up in the same house with the same parents, no two kids were ever any less alike in most respects. Sterling got to be a real boy and get greasy, dirty, and run around all over heck and half of Georgia. His little sister was pretty much under the thumb of her mother. Well, until Sir Clyde came on the premises. A donkey made life quite interesting at our house. Clyde was a sweet creature—most of the time. We finally had a way to pretty much keep him in the yard even though he got away from us a couple of times. Riding him bareback was how the muscles in my legs and my sense of balance became pretty doggone strong. Mom really thought it was unladylike, however, so Sterling and a friend made a little cart that Clyde pulled. By the time he had learned to turn swiftly and listen to my instructions, Mom had decided her little girl needed to be more girl and less “donkey girl.” So, Clyde went to live with a man who thought he could let his grandchildren enjoy the cart and donkey. Didn’t happen that way, so Clyde went to be a plow donkey for another man. He was strong and healthy, so we can only hope that went well. The point of all this mumbling was that my brother was the one who thought that his sister needed a horse. So, in order to establish his own credit and to see his little sister happy, he and Dad went to take out a loan in Sterling’s name for enough to buy a horse. Chico was about starving to death when we got him, but a couple of worm pills and quite a few groceries later, he was the sweetest horse ever. All because my brother said, “She needs a horse.”

 

We never really think too much about each other when we are growing up necessarily, but remembering back now, we discuss some of the things that made life interesting back then. Winters in our house were cold at night. Feet did not get warm until at least spring. Daddy did not believe in keeping a fire going in the house at night because he said folks died at night with a fire going. Guess he was thinking of carbon monoxide poisoning. Anyway, life went on and we grew up. Now Sterling keeps his workshop hotter than a two-dollar pistol so that his shingles don’t bother him quite as much. My house stays semi-warm. Heat bothers me more than the cold, to tell the truth. Even in the coldest weather, a foot hangs out from under the covers. Go figure.

 

It helps to have my brother still around to help me think about things we have read and heard about all our lives. So, this evening the book of Daniel is a refresher of how God plans and expands upon His word. God never lies. It is impossible for Him to lie. Satan, however, IS the liar. All the distress we have ever seen or heard starts with him. Watch the news, and it is easy to see the disparity between what should be understood and those who refuse to see what God has in store for this world. Hamas, the tool of Satan, tries to make it seem that Israel is the reason the Palestinians are being killed when, in fact, it is Hamas who puts them out there like shields. Hamas will be wiped from the face of the earth. God will use Israel to do that.

 

It may take awhile for the old woman to settle down and stop being upset by the stupidity rampant around us in our own country as well as in all of Europe, but eventually the birds will come home to roost—not just my hens, either. Perhaps, until that calm descends here at this homestead, you will pardon my frustration.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.