{The Brother}

"They go through the brother," my dad teased, a knowing look in his eye. My sister and I giggled. We supposed that it was sometimes true. That boys would befriend a brother in order to get to know the sister. But not my boyfriend. Not my Jamie. He truly enjoyed being with my brother. I loved watching them shoot hoops and play catch, loved the way Jamie made him feel special, loved the way my brother looked up to him.

Sometimes I wonder what I would have thought had I been able to take a glimpse into the future when I snapped this picture. If God had whispered a secret to come, a secret that waited down the road about twenty years, I would have seen another picture.

A picture of these boys -- now men, now truly brothers -- in another country.

It would have both baffled and delighted me. (I would have blushed. So we do end up getting married?) Yes, and one day Jamie will go to visit Johnny and his family in a country called Slovenia. The whisper would have filled out the story: Her name is Brooke, and they have a darling little girl named Kinsley. You will love them. You'll get to visit with them often using home computers. It will be called Skype. (You mean like the Jetsons? I'd marvel.) Yeah, kinda like that.

(Why does Jamie go?) The whisper would continue: He'll bring his video equipment to capture the vision. To bring home a picture of the love that Johnny and Brooke have for their God, for this country, for these people. And he'll bring home a heart full of love for your brother, his brother.

And I'd shake my head in joyful astonishment, marveling at the future.

* * * * *

I close the photo album and come to the present, to the now. Here they are before me, proof. The two pictures -- and many more -- each whispering a thousand words. Among those words are the most true, that God is good.

Yes, sometimes they go through the brother. And sometimes they go to the brother. Because that's what brothers do.