Brothers

They are found.

Sleeping around a fire in the mountains... seeing our Father smiling down on his boys...

Side by side in a raging stream... rejoicing in the skill of the union of fish and fly...

Around a wooden table in a cabin... sharing the deep places...

...Back to back in a foxhole... ready for the next moment to fight for each other against the Enemy...

They are found.

I came to think of this recently...the deepest of thoughts came in the image of the foxhole, seeing Daniel in the field today at work. Our Father has chosen a most interesting path for our time in the world of men, in the fields of various places. Some would call it humble work. Others, something else. My heart...calls it "shepherd work." I'll go deeper into that when the time is right.

I saw Daniel in the field, surrounded by tall grass and tall, thick bushes. And then, suddenly, another image took its place. Dan, surrounded by...figures. Fighting for his life... There is a scene in every war movie, to some given extent, where a man in the middle of a great battle looks over, and sees his brother fighting not far away, with the same purpose...the same desire...the same heart. Whether back to back, or simply in sight of each other, it is there. Brothers, who fight for each other. Who watch each other's back, and fight to protect it.

King Arthur...
Lord of the Rings...
Robin Hood...
300...

Watch them. You will see it...

One thing I've never seen is a bond of brotherhood forged deeper than in the fires of combat. In a foxhole, in a cabin, around a fire...brothers who fight together become brothers beyond what most people can understand. Fighting for Dan... Fighting for Campbell... Fighting for Adam... Against an Enemy who looks to steal the life from, kill the desire of, and destroy the essence of their hearts.

Today, listening to a teaching that John Eldredge gave, and seeing Dan, I'm beginning to realize that we are truly born into a world at war, that we have a place in that battle, that we are meant to fight, and that we have an Enemy who is bent on destroying us and everything...everyone, we care about... I love my brothers here. The time we've had here...I'd trust any one of them at my back in that battle, protecting me. Watching over me as I watch over them. The thought of that fills me with a combination of excitement, over the thought of this journey of meaning...and fear, over the fact that this journey has an incredible share of danger, and the risk is great.

The truth is, I wouldn't have it any other way...
Because there are those who I know are right next to me...back to back, or just in sight...fighting with the same heart...

I call them brothers...
I love my journey...