I have loved some very special men in my life.

It all started with my Dad. I adored that man as a little girl. We used to goof around and play when he would finally come in from working so hard.

We would push the limits of safety till my mother would fret with worry. My Dad would put me up on his feet and then we would play “airplane”. Mama would be worried sick that he would hurt me. All I wanted was to play longer and with more abandon.

Then came my brothers. My older brother was eleven years my senior and I kind of just stood in awe of him as a little girl.

Then I had a brother that was three years older than me. We played together and I loved him but we weren’t that close. Over the past few years this brother has become very close to my heart. I talk with him and his wife more than anyone in my family, except my Mom.

Ironically, as little girl, three years younger than him, I was always the fearless one who protected him. It wasn’t that he was a sissy, it was just that I wasn’t the least bit scared of “bogey men.”

This brother has been in the process of taking over the family farm from my Dad. It has not been an easy transition for either one of them.

There have been times when we have had family farm meetings and my dad and my other siblings have been antagonistic towards this brother. I have stood in his corner and beat them down with logical reasoning and support for my brother.

My Dad has several men in the community which he rents his farmland out to. He says he has a good relationship with all of them. He raves about them.

The only one which he does not rave about is his son, which is the brother I love. (I actually love both of my brothers but only one of them farms)

This simply breaks my heart.

I wonder if I break God’s heart when I sever a relationship that originated in His family?

I wonder if the tears start running down His cheeks when He sees how long it has been since I talked with that Christian sister whom I confronted? (FYI-confronted is a very nice way of saying judged and condemned her)

My brother is taking over the farm.

I am supposed to be growing God’s kingdom.

I pray that my brother will love my Dad before he passes on. My Dad is eighty- seven years old and he is getting to be frail.

I pray even more that my heavenly Father will know how much I love him by the way I treat His family and how I grow His kingdom through love and not condemnation.