Am I my brother's keeper?

I love my family.  I really do love them, more than anything in the world, except Gauchay.  :)  I am who I am today because of the experiences I had with my brothers and sisters and with my parents.  I'm going to assume that the majority of those that read this blog have probably already moved out of the house and started a family of their own.  So my question to you is, "Did your responsibility to love and cherish your family end when you moved out of the house?  Or are there still things that you should be doing?"

I find it so very, very sad that so many people today in the world don't have a relationship with their siblings anymore.  It may have been years since you last saw one of your brothers or sisters.  It may have been years since you've even talked to each other.  

Why?  Does it matter how you treat your brothers and sisters after you move out?  Do you need to treat them differently than you treat any other person?  

I would say yes.  I have no doubt in my mind that you were born into your family for a reason.  God does not work with "coincidences".  That's not how He does His work.  God knows everything, from the beginning to the end, and He knows exactly what situations you need to be placed in so that you can grow and become what you need to be.  That is why He put you in your family, because there are things you can learn from them that you can't learn anywhere else.

And not only that.  He knows exactly which traits you have that will be a blessing to your siblings so that they can become what they need to be.  It is not coincidence.  

And so I would ask, "What have you done for your brother or sister today?"  "How have you helped him or her?"  

Sometimes we may feel insignificant.  We may feel like we have nothing to contribute, that we're just a nobody in our family.  I promise you that that is not true.  You, as a member of your family, can have a more profound impact on the members of your family than anyone else in this world.  

So what should you do?  Maybe I'll answer this by asking some more questions:

When was the last time you told your sibling that you loved him or her?

What is your sibling's favorite hobby right now?

What is your sibling's biggest worry right now in his or her life?

When was the last time you spoke with your sibling?

What is your favorite memory of your sibling?

When asked to list the top 10 people that your sibling loves the most, would you be in that list?

What makes your sibling laugh?

If you could describe your sibling in one word, what would it be?

I testify that you are your brother's keeper.  Some day we will stand before God and answer for how we have treated our brothers and sisters.  We can have a great impact on them.

 I love my brothers and sister more than anything else.  The relationship I have with them is unlike any other relationship I have with anyone else in the world.  I know that they can teach me things that no one else can teach me, and I know that I can influence them in ways that no one else could.

Some of your richest blessings will come as you continue to develop your relationships with your siblings.  But those blessings are lost if you do not make the effort to keep that relationship alive.  I promise that God will bless you as you strive to reach out and bless those whose souls are intimately connected with yours, whether you may like it or not: your brothers and sisters.

I love you Dillon, Linzy, and Jake.  :)