I would be my Brother's Keeper..........



My mother-in-law shared a story with me once and it has been one that has been told often and usually with quite a bit of humor added....but today I thought of the story in a completely different light.  I am not quite sure why today it took on a different meaning, but today the very funny story became a very endearing and touching story....that I now hold a little dearer to my heart. 

When my husband was around 9 or 10 his mother took him and his little brother to the dentist. He was brother was about 6 or 7 and quite a sweet little boy. They came and got his little brother first and took him back to have his dental work done....I am not quite sure where there mother was at the time...but as my husband sat there in the waiting room he started to hear whimpering, then crying and it seemed to get louder and louder.....well my husband sat there for about as long as he could until finally he burst into the back room. It was so unexpected by all, that no one could even stop him or dare try.  He went straight to the dentist and with all his might just started hitting and kicking and screaming at the dentist to leave his little brother alone. It was truly quite the scene and he had to be removed from the dentist office altogether.  He truly could not handle to hear his brother in that sort of pain.  So while we have all had our share of laughs and fun with this cute story....what a great little man my husband was that day to be willing to defend and stand up for his little brother.  I am sure that throughout our lives we often find ourselves not knowing what to do when one of our family members is hurting and in pain.  How can we help them, where is our place in it all, what should we do and where do we begin?  I am a firm believer that before we came to this earthlife we lived with each other and we made promises to help each other through the difficult times. 

This story reminds me of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum. "Joseph once said about Hyrum, I love him with that love that is stronger than death."  In the end their love did carry them to death together. 

The brothers willingly gave everything they had, even their lives, in service to Heavenly Father.

They left behind, as precious gifts to us, the results of their work. Among these gifts shines a quiet

example of lasting brotherhood. What a marvelous example to each of us they were.

I can't blog about brothers without sharing one of my very favorite songs:

Lord, I Would Follow Thee

Savior, may I learn to love thee,
Walk the path that thou hast shown,
Pause to help and lift another,
Finding strength beyond my own.

Savior, may I learn to love thee-
Lord, I would follow thee.

Who am I to judge another
When I walk imperfectly?
In the quiet heart is hidden
Sorrow that the eye can't see.

Who am I to judge another?
Lord, I would follow thee.

I would be my brother's keeper;
I would learn the healer's art.
To the wounded and the weary
I would show a gentle heart.

I would be my brother's keeper-
Lord, I would follow thee.

Savior, may I love my brother
As I know thou lovest me,

Find in thee my strength, my beacon,
For thy servant I would be.
Savior, may I love my brother-

Lord, I would follow thee.

 Knowing the love that I have for my own children and the hurt I feel when they are sad, makes me think

of how heart-breaking it must be for our Father in Heaven to watch us struggle, hurt and go through

 hard times. I know that there is nothing my children could do to change my love for them and so that confirms to me even more our Fathers love for us all.  I also know that my children learn the most through hard times and through failures and struggles, so in order for them to grow we must allow them to have these learning experiences.....which is also why our Father in Heaven allows these experiences
to take place in our lives.

CS Lewis explains this process that our Father allows to happen to us in a beautiful and touching way: 

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

So the next time trials come your way....and its not a matter of IF but WHEN....just remember....You are being made into a beautiful PALACE!!!!