Bible Study Brother
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Happy 36th Birthday Bible Study Brother!
Happy 36th birthday to my baby brother, Bible Study Brother!!!!! It is certainly fitting that his birthday falls in the month of November while I shout out things that I am grateful for. Because I am grateful for him. I have told this story before, but I will tell it again. I was a very certain and opinionated four-year-old. And I was very certain that I was meant to be a big sister. Gender did not matter to me. I just wanted a baby. My mom and stepdad over-delivered when they gave me my baby brother. He was loud. He was certain. He was opinionated. Our sibling journey has not…
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Attitude of Gratitude: Bible Study Brother
Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy Birthday Bible Study Brother. A review of things that I am grateful for would not be complete if I didn’t salute this guy. I have shared before how much I wanted a sibling. I knew at a tender age that only child life was not going to cut it. I was thrilled to meet the little guy that made me a big sister. Unfortunately, our first meeting was not all peaches and cream. He was getting his diaper changed and well…thank God for my quick reflexes. Our relationship improved after the initial meeting. He was everything I wanted…until he started walking. I take that back. …
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Happy Birthday, Bible Study Brother!!!
The picture attached to this blog is an oldy but a goody. Bible Study Brother and I are in our grandmother’s apartment in St. Louis. I have on my red, green, and yellow striped outfit that is perfectly accented by my Bugs Bunny earrings. Bible Study Brother has on an oversized t-shirt and his signature childhood glasses. We are smiling and happy. And right beside us on the couch is the Holy Bible. How ironic that we are living the life that was portrayed in that photo taken long ago. We still have questionable fashion choices. We are still smiling and happy. And right beside us is the Holy Bible.…
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Everyday is Thanksgiving
Every year around this time we come together to be with family, friends, and loved ones. We enjoy eating copious amounts of food, watching football, and shoppping like mad men. This is the time of “Thanksgiving.” The funny thing about this holiday is the fact that, by all accounts, it’s a scheduled time of thanks. Which, as I grow closer to God, seems odd. Do I really need a reminder to be thankful? Has God done so little for me that I somehow can get all of my thanks to Him done in one day? Being continually thankful is hard. I struggle with it. Especially when I’m going through…
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What is Forgiveness? Part II
Super heros are an amazing creation. It’s even more incredible when you know one in real life. To me, that person was/is my sister. For the majority of my life, I’ve seen her do the most difficult things with extreme ease. She is, by all accounts, the purest definition of black girl magic. I aspired in a lot of ways to make my sister proud of me. She was my first best friend and de facto parent when my mother wasn’t around. What does any of that have to do with forgiveness or finding out what it means you ask? Well, all siblings fight. And our biggest fight was surrounding…
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What is Forgiveness? Part I
Six years ago this November, a couple days after my 26th birthday, my uncle was shot and killed. I don’t often think about it. In fact, most days I just lock it away in the deep recesses of my mind. I seal any emotionally draining thoughts inside a vault of ironclad stoicism just so I can function. I do this so I don’t break down. Reality can be harsh sometimes. I stare in the mirror and wonder what it truly means to forgive. And can’t seem to come up with an answer. Somewhere, deep inside me, it feels like defeat to say “Hey, I forgive you for murdering my uncle…
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How I Learned to Read
We aren’t born knowing what expectations we should have for ourselves. It isn’t something you just stumble across by serendipity. In fact, it’s more like osmosis. There was a special summer I spent with my grandmother the year before I started elementary school. My sister and I would get to go swimming, devour amazing meals, and go to the library, amongst other things. The library was significant because I’d get to enjoy videos of my favorite characters, Winnie the Pooh, etc., which allowed my imagination to explode into the cosmos. “What does this word mean?” or “Ooo, I like the way this character sounds.” The thing I didn’t realize was…
