I Am My Brother's Keeper

Halloween has come and gone and in keeping with the new Madison Avenue paradigm, the Christmas shopping season is now upon us. It used to be almost Thanksgiving before we were blitzed with ads, but check for yourself, the local WalMart, Target, what-have-you, they're all sure to have Christmas on display, just waiting for you and your plastic.

And though I deplore the coming commercialism the season brings, I love the reason for the season. And every Christmas season, I think back to my childhood and I remember the Christmas seal stamps and the mailings we would get from Boy's Town. In case you don't remember, there was always the picture of the two orphan boys, with one carrying the other and the caption below that read, "He ain't heavy, he's my brother."

I find myself thinking of those lines tonight as I write this because my brother, just two years older than I am, is battling depression and I find myself wishing I could put him on my shoulders and carry him a ways. "He ain't heavy, he's my brother." A year ago this past December, my brother lost a daughter in an accidental death, she was just 27. One month later, I lost my oldest daughter to a sudden asthma attack, she was only 31 and left two small sons behind. Since that time there have been other family members and close friends of ours who have been called home. It has been a very rough 18 months or so. I don't know why depression has overtaken my brother and not me. Don't get me wrong, there have been waves of grief that I thought would never pass. Waves so strong that I thought surely they would drown me. My brother and I talk often, even though we are miles apart. I know he has a strong faith in God and in the life to come after this veil of tears has passed, as do I. I am so grateful for the love and support I found in my church. I know that that has helped to strengthen my faith in a way I never thought possible. Is my faith that much stronger than his? I think not. Is it that simple? I think not. I won't pretend to understand clinical depression or what causes it. I do believe that that is what my brother is fighting and if thats true, then faith has nothing to do with the root cause, but it has a lot to do with the battle against it.

So, since I can't put you on my shoulders brother, I will put you in God's Hands. I can't carry you, but He can, and He will. And if you think you ain't heavy 'cause you're my brother, you're as light as a feather in our Father's Hands. So there I will leave you and keep you and your family in my prayers. In that way, I will be my brother's keeper.