Saying Goodbye to a Brother

After a girl is grown, her little brothers - now her protectors  - seem like big brothers.
~Terri Guillemets~

I was blessed with four wonderful brothers.  Yesterday I said goodbye to one of them.  I've lost grandparents, parents and uncles but never a sibling.  To have lost any of my brothers would be devastating but this one was particularly painful - at least, I think it was. You see, I didn't just lose a brother. I also lost the opportunity to get to know him better, to make memories, to make discoveries about his life and to develop an even deeper love for him.  I don't have many memories from which I can seek comfort - no good times to laugh about, no sibling rivalry stories to recount, no times when we shared tears together.

My brother didn't have a long life but in the last few days, I learned that he had a rich, full life. He was blessed with a beautiful wife and three equally beautiful daughters who all loved him with all of their hearts.  He returned that love to them tenfold.  All three of his daughters were 'Daddy's Girls' but his precious wife was clearly the love of his life - as  he was hers.

A couple of days ago, my surviving brothers and I were at our sister-in-law's home where we were helping with photo boards to display at the public viewing.  I was amazed at how much life this wonderful man lived in such a short time.  I learned that he loved 'free falling' when I saw a photo of him after he jumped from a plane but before he opened his parachute.  He seemed to be floating among the clouds and I found that a comforting thought as we said our goodbyes.  My brother is up there above the clouds where he seemed to love to be.

While my other brothers and I were getting ready for the service yesterday, we were all watching the same morning show (coincidence? I think not!) on which a man who had been revived 47 minutes after he died recounted his experience.  When he was asked what it was like, the man said that he felt himself falling and then he felt himself "shoot out of his body like a rocket".  Until that point, the man was in a lot of pain but he said as soon as he was propelled from his body, he was no longer in pain and had an amazing sense of peace around him.  Again, I was comforted thinking of my brother as whole again with no pain in his body.

I will never know why we could not have known this brother until so late in our lives, why our father had to leave all of us and why we couldn't have had more time with our newest brother.  I do know, though, that God saw fit to give us some time together and in doing so, He enriched our lives in a way that will impact me forever.

For my sister-in-law and nieces, I would ask God to help them in this time of grief, to ease their heartache, to give them comfort as they learn to remember the good times without tears and to let them know that we are all here for them in whatever way they may need us.

As for our brother, he was in our lives for a very short time but he will be in our hearts forever. I love you, Bubby.  Rest in peace.