My Brother John

This week I have been really missing my brother John. Sometimes it's a VW roaring by, or a convertible on a sunny day, a trip to White Rock, seeing a tall guy with long blonde hair, any of those things conjure up a memory of John.

My brother John passed away December 15/04. Hard to believe that it's been that long already when his memory still seems so recent. He was 51 years old. He had suffered with diabetes since he was 13 and all the related health problems attached to that disease. He had a kidney transplant when he was 40 that gave him many more years than anybody expected. It was his heart that failed him in the end. But thankfully he was at home when it happened and not on one of his crazy "adventures".

John lived his life with passion. He never did anything half ways. He loved God with all of his heart and desired to serve Him with everything he had. He loved his family - his wife who left him years ago because she couldn't deal with his illness, his 3 children and his beautiful granddaughter. He honored his mom with cards he gave to her expressing his thankfulness for his rich heritage in the Lord. He loved his older brother and me, his younger sister. He loved his church family who had given him so much as a shelter away from the storms of life. Who provided him with a safe place to stay when he needed it, when his health was precarious he often stayed in one of their rooms and enjoyed their kind hospitality. He loved his VW's and that whole community of whacky people that he hung out with, had coffee with and talked about VDubs with.

My brother was one of a kind. You never knew when he was going to show up looking for a meal, but at the same time offering to do whatever you needed around the house. He changed the oil in my car because "you'll get ripped off otherswise". He did a lot of stuff for me and things I really appreciated even more after I didn't have someone to do it anymore.

I miss his big voice, you had to hear it to believe it. Everyone always knew when John arrived, between his VW roaring in and his hearty "hello".

It's a bright sunny day out today and I think I'll go wash the car. Just because it's something John would do.

Take a moment today to tell someone you love them. John always treated everyone as if it was his last chance to see them. His last night on earth he spent having an early Christmas dinner with his kids so he could tell them just how much he loved them.

I miss you John.