It's all about love

It's not enough to simply love other people. Anyone can say that they love someone, but it's the actions behind the act of love that touches lives. My older brother, Stephen, is 27 years old and is struggling with life due to a seemingly lack of direction and purpose. For the past few years, Stephen has gradually been heading "down hill". This past week, however was a major turning point for him, as well as for the relationship between him, myself and our younger sister, Christina(23). Some time ago, Stephen got into some serioius debt due to poor decision making and turned to our grandparents for help. Our grandparents have a fortune worth about $1,000,000. They "graciously" paid off his credit cards, but have turned him into their little slave and treat him as such. Stephen is subjected to a VERY unloving environment every time he has to go over to their house. This past Saturday, Stephen reached a breaking point and broke down. He went to Christina to ask her for some money because he had over-drawn on his checking account. That was the moment that started a phase of healing for him. Up until that point, we knew that he was struggling, but he always kept to himself. He wouldn't allow any of us into his life, but by going to Christina for help, he cracked open a doorway that allowed her and I to push through. And that's exactly what we did. Christina and I decided that what our brother needs more than anything is to know that he's LOVED, CARED about, and that he has a PURPOSE in this world. The next night we treated him to Starbucks and we all sat outside under the stars and talked, opened up about our struggles, laughed, and cried with each other for about 2 hours. It was torturous to see my brother in such a misserable and depressing state, but Christina and I could see the relief on his face when he opened up to us and he realised that nothing he said would shock us or push us away. We showed him that he's loved!

I used to tell him occasionally that I love him, but it's times like this when I'm reminded that verbally expressing love can bring about a smile, but acting out love touches the inner soul.

I have a feeling that Stephen's going to alright. God is so evidently working in his life and though the process of spiritual growth has been difficult for him...it's also really quite stunning!

With all the LOVE one can muster,
Brit