Run, baby, run, just as fast as you can

[Run, Baby, Run, Jason Upton]

This morning I prayed for my family (as well as Jason's). I try to be consistent about praying for them, but at times can be a little lame about it. Or a lot lame, actually. But this morning I did pray. One prayer I pray in particular is that God would surround my family with Christians who love Him and walk in His truth, to speak truth into their lives. Just as Jesus found that Nazareth was the most difficult place to be a witness for God (Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4), I have found that it's most difficult for my own family to see me as a woman in love with the Lord and not just as the snotty, insecure child and teenager I once was. Thus, I pray that God would continually bring more people into the lives of my family, to live out His truth before them as I seek to do the same.

I haven't really heard much about how my brother has been lately, other than he lost his job and might get kicked out of his apartment since his roommate was thinking of moving back to Michigan to be with his own family. This morning as I prayed, I wondered if my brother might be able to go there, too. I wasn't sure about things like probation and/or parole (he served a few months in prison as a result of some poor choices he made), but the thought did occur that maybe what would be best for would be to just get away and start over. I didn't think much of this though, and continued praying.

Earlier my mom forwarded me an e-mail from my brother in which he basically said that he lost his apartment since his roommate was leaving for Michigan, so he also got on a bus and now is in Kalamazoo at a local homeless shelter. The shelter (I'm not including the name for his own privacy) is one wholly intent on sharing the Gospel with people, doing Bible studies and ministering to people with broken pasts. My brother's past is quite similar to my own and I don't believe he's been able to experience the healing in Christ that I have.

What an incredible answer to prayer, right? I wrote him an e-mail and really just shared my heart with him in a way that I never have, seeking to bridge the gap and restore our relationship. I was honest about my own issues with him in the past, resenting and mistreating him. I pray that God would break my brother wide open and deal with the issues at hand and change him from the inside out. Please join me in that prayer, if you feel so led. His name is Sc0tt, and I pray most fervently that God uses this time in his life to bring my brother face to face with Jesus Christ Himself, in all His Truth and Glory, and for my brother to repent of his sin, receive Christ as His personal Lord, Savior, and Master, and to begin a new fruit-filled chapter in my brother's life.

Thank you for joining me, to those who do.