An Angel for Spring

This could be a sad day, but I choose to feel happy inside God's grace. It's a day filled with nostalgia, both good and bad, and a day mostly of remembrance. I dedicate this post to my brother, Donald. Today would have been his 62nd birthday. He went home to meet his God the day after Christmas last year. For him, the pain of this world is over. And I'd like to think he finds eternal Spring in Heaven where every day is scent-filled with the loving aroma of God's Love.

When I was a kid this day was always very special for me. He and I were adopted out to separate families. They lived within half a mile of each other so we attended the same school. They brought us up to know we were brother and sister. And for as long as I can remember he was my saviour. On birthdays and holidays the two sets of parents would always make sure he and I saw each other. It gave us a much needed connection.

He protected me from the bullies on the school bus and in the school yard. And when I came of age, he welcomed me as part of his family Through heartbreak and broken relationships I could always depend on him for support and a shoulder to cry on. Those years lasted for only a short time though.

Geographic separation took its toll as we lived our lives in different ways. And when I returned to my hometown it was a bittersweet arrival. We had grown so apart that we were like strangers. But I always held the hope inside that one day, when we were old and gray and had nothing else and no one left, that we would return to the days when we were so close and perhaps enjoy the second childhool together.

But God had other plans and he was taken before that could ever happen. So these days, I just think about what might have been. And I recount the good times and the laughs and the twinkle in his eye as he used to tease me. Standing at 6'3", a hug from him enveloped me. Just a big teddy bear he was.

And so Spring springs eternal even with him gone. And I think about what other things I should do with my life... in my life... so that if someone else special to me finds their way Home I don't have to feel any regret for things undone, unsaid, unrealized, unattained... to this add one... love withheld, restrained.

Tend the garden, Donald. Open the gate and wait for us all. Love you... no matter what you may have thought.