Thank God For ... My Brother

Winner of the Friend of the Year 2005 my brother is undoubtedly one of the most gifted people I’ve ever met in my life. And that is not just a statement made out of filial affiliation but an honest assessment of his capabilities. If my admiration for him was just based on his creative abilities there’d be a lot to admire. He’s a gifted musician able of playing skilfully on the guitar (any – bass, acoustic, electric probably even a banjo), keyboard/piano, drums, violin, recorder, harmonica and of course most importantly the tambourine (no one qualifies as a multi-instrumentalist unless you can play on the tambourine).

He is also a great vocalist with a keen ear for harmonies able to express emotion ranging from joy and exultation to despair and confusion with a melodic and harmonic support that reinforces the mood with such feeling he is more than aptly named David. (Biblical reference to the main songsmith in the Bible to the uninitiated.) Just to make matters that much more astounding, this hombre is a special songwriter. One of my main moans of being in the church I’m in is the lack of NEW SONGS to the Lord, but this brother doesn’t have a problem in that regard. If he were to quit now he’d already have a healthy catalogue of over 150 songs most of which highlights the ups and downs of his relationship with the Almighty. These aren’t cheap pop-tunes about boy-meets-girl-then-raps about what he’ll do to her before moving onto his next conquest. These are a collection of the turmoil and aspirations of a man on a quest to know his Creator. The thing about these songs as well is that these are heart-driven and honestly expressed – there be no prettying up of the issues in these songs.

So he’s the musician extraordinaire, but as if that’s not enough his scholarly feats are substantial. Just check his site out – the brother doesn’t do anything but deep in a major way and it’s thoroughly, methodically researched and considered before being published – all because of his passion to know his Creator. To highlight how deep he gets there’s some stuff he comes up that even I have to scratch my head and just say – wow. The guy knows his Hebrew and Greek better than some people in this country know their English.

He’s an able sportsman, back in the day he’d master most of the sports he took up, especially football which is why I’d love for him to come up here and live with me so I can bask in his talent on Thursday Afternoon Football. He is then gifted in many areas and I could go on about his intelligence and his oratory skills – greatly underappreciated.

If that was all there was to my brother it would be alright. Yet what is the really outstanding quality of my brother is his character. He may well have his obstinate and stubborn moments, but he’s not a boaster or a proud man. He goes out of his way to maintain a humility before the Lord and an awareness of his frailties and utter dependence on the Almighty just to continue living. He looks out for his family both immediate in terms of his wife and extended in terms of his parents and siblings. He is sacrificial to a fault not having any difficulty in giving when there’s a need. He’s a patient and attentive listener able to communicate appropriately and in a timely way. It is more than evident to me that he has inherited his father’s humility and meekness and it marks him out to me as a man worthy of great respect. He remains one of the few men on this planet that I could trust implicitly and I know that to the very best of his ability he would not let me down. No he is not perfect – he should be more assertive in his life-direction, he does need to be more assertive in making the most of his abilities, his at times tortured spiritual journey isn’t always beneficial to his relationships. The awareness of that however makes it all the more appealing in terms of having him as a friend and brother.

More than ever I’m grateful for his friendship, I’m thankful for his counsel, I’m inspired by his commitment to the Creator and I’m awed at his humility. He is a man of the Almighty and that’s a good thing to have. My friend, my brother I thank God for him.

4 His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd