Thankful For Brothers

This was my thought long before the sun shone.
It made me realize the importance of brothers.
Good thoughts keep us bonded together.
No matter what I face, I’m thankful for my brothers.

Blessed and sometimes taken for granted,
The foundation we are each built from.
The same genetic base, but differently assembled,
I realize the older I get, how different, but also,
We are so much alike.

Close in age, we’re spread across the landscape
Of life, living, loving, and surviving.
Often alone, but never lonely,
We would step through time to be where,
We are needed for the other.
Nothing stands in the way.

We seem to work together better as we age.
It’s not the next-door connection we need,
And months go by before we connect.
But let one of us have a need. Yes. There!
I’m genuinely thankful, oh yes, for my brothers.

Solomon penned the words to a verse we’ve read, studied, and tried to understand.

A friend loveth at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
(Proverbs 17:17 KJV)

Do brothers not love? Sure we do. Are brothers only there for the fight? No. We are there all the time. But sometimes you turn to a friend who may also be your brother.

This scripture is differently translated, making me wonder how it’s seen in the original. In English, we can find it like this:

• (ASV)  A friend loveth at all times; And a brother is born for adversity.
• (BBE)  A friend is loving at all times, and becomes a brother in times of trouble. (The friend becomes the brother.)
• (CEV)  A friend is always a friend, and relatives are born to share our troubles.
• (ERV)  A friend loves you all the time, but a brother was born to help in times of trouble.
• (ESV)  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
• (GNB)  Friends always show their love. What are relatives for if not to share trouble?
• (GW)  A friend always loves, and a brother is born to share trouble.
• (ISV)  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is there for times of trouble.
• (JPS)  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
• (KJV)  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
• (LITV)  A friend loves at every time, but a brother is born for distress.
• (MKJV)  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for the time of trouble.
• (NET)  A friend loves at all times, and a relative is born to help in adversity.
• (NKJV)  A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.

The common thread seems to be that we have friends who will be with us when we need them, and we often see them more frequently. I’m thinking of David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:3, 19:2). We don’t read much of David’s older brothers during his trials. Perhaps they were not integral to the story or stayed away for a reason. After all, David did defeat Goliath as he went to the battlefront to carry food for his brothers.

Why do brothers often seem to be harsh against each other?

Remember Joseph? He was sold by his brothers even when one of them, Reuben, seemed to stand by his side. They concocted a story and lied to their father! But Joseph saw the bigger picture. We need brothers like this! Forgive. Forget. Let’s keep on forward!

The story of the brothers keeps me searching.

Jacob and Esau… Ishmael and Isaac (half-brothers)… Cain and Abel… James and John (Sons of Thunder)… Lest we forget, the 12 tribes of Israel’s progenitors were all brothers to each other. When I asked my Israeli guide about the tribes and which one he may descend from, he shrugged as if to say, “Who knows!??”

In Proverbs 18:24, Solomon writes about a friend who is closer than a brother. Got it. We have friends like this. Right? I have several I would call on for this purpose. But first? You must show yourself friendly!

Maybe these kinds of friends are few and far between, but when we work on being friendly, we will find friends that may fit our needs.

But the Bible still teaches that friends are not always what they are cracked up to be.

Jesus teaches us that friends will lay down their lives for Him as he does for us. (John 15:13-14) Brothers are pitted against each other to see who will win. (James and John) Who stayed around when Jesus was arrested, tried, and convicted? His friends stood off afar.

Maybe, on one hand, okay, maybe both.
I can count the friends that will be there.
Some are seldom in my life, others more frequently,
But we trust in each other. The moment comes?
We’re there.

Oh, but my brothers.
We’ve knocked heads through the years.
We can disagree, but when the need arrives,
I’m thankful we look past the knowledge of failures,
And step into the battlefront we each face.

Put us together playing Trivial Pursuit… Almost undefeatable!

I’ve had some discount me, because of my brothers.
What they don’t know? My brothers never warned me of them.
We maintain our confidence. We don’t sway the other.
Though we may know something, we keep supporting the other.

We need friends and brothers like that.
Sometimes, oftentimes, they are the same.
We’ve called them “Brothers from a different mother!”
We are willing to stick together as we move through life.
Always there, ready to share, willing to care.
I’m thankful for my brothers.

Before I pause and let this thought go, I’m also thankful for my sister. She was the youngest of us and often treated differently because she was the only girl. But we loved her. Even when things were in turmoil, I knew we would bond, life would mend, and eventually, we’d all be on the same page. I traveled everywhere she lived but one place. When life was upside down, I was there. We were there. We were siblings who cared. That being said, I’m thankful for my parents and my family – Gurley, Simmons, Walters, Parrish, Murphy, oh my… Our last names are like the branches of a family tree – I need to open up my ancestry page to see all the names!

Thank you for reading.
Please share with others.
It helps me get my book written!