Brother

Brother

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

MY SISTER-IN-LAW Marlene’s father, Maury, was born in the San Fernando valley in 1926, where he lived until his retirement. During the decades he spent in his predominantly white community, he had very little exposure to people who didn’t look like him.

But in his final years, Maury moved in with Marlene and his son-in-law Phil in Northern California. Although he was independent at the beginning, over time, he gradually needed more care. In the last four months of his life, the family hired a man named Denis to stay overnight every other night so Marlene could rest. Denis was from Uganda, and though he had taught high school chemistry and physics in his home country, he’d moved to the United States in the hope of finding more opportunities.

Maury and Denis quickly struck up a friendship. As their time together transitioned to days, as well, Denis’s stories and Maury’s gregarious laugh could often be heard through the house.

But in the final weeks of his life, Maury wrestled with what felt like an injustice to him. Though Denis had started the green card process, it had stalled. The idea that his friend had a wife he was separated from, a daughter growing up without his physical presence, and a son he had never met in person was intolerable. As their conversations deepened, Maury saw Denis not through the lens of his own upbringing, but as a husband and father, just as he himself was a husband and father. Privately, he told Marlene that he would like to help support Denis in his efforts to reunite with his family.

One evening, Denis reported to Marlene that Maury had stopped breathing in his sleep; they both cried. One of Maury’s final wishes was that his family use his remaining funds to buy Denis a plane ticket to meet his son. Later that week, Denis got the long-awaited notification that his green card interview was scheduled.

When we see those around us as brothers and sisters—children of God alongside us—perspectives shift. The bonds we have together as children of our Father are stronger than the tethers of our upbringing.

Lord, thank you that your love overcomes all barriers to unity with brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.

-Kristin

One Good Step: The next time you’re tempted to categorize someone else —because of heritage, socioeconomic factors, gender, or something else—instead think, He is my brother or She is my sister.