Hanging out with Bryan and Ivan
I did something December 17-19 of this past year that I honestly can't every remember doing. I hung out with Bryan, my brother, and Ivan, my dad. The three of us together for the first time. Just the boys hanging out. I hear you questioning the "first time" deal, but as best as I can remember its true.
My brother, Bryan Theodore King, is four years younger than me and was the musician, cook, and high school valedictorian of the family. He has six children and a few grandchildren and is a church organist and adjunct professor in music at Auburn University. My dad, Ivan Dewitt King Jr., started and ran (single-handily) a civil engineering/land surveying business in Central Florida. He is now 87 and hasn't retired! Since I played a lot of sports and was older than Bryan and dad had to work from 7:30AM to 10PM most every day (except Sunday) we just never had any time or inclination to do things together.
In the fall, our church embarked on a journey to hopefully become a Radiant Church based on Ephesians 5:27. We developed a framework of four support pillars that will help each of us become a radiant Christian and hopefully as we the members become radiant the church itself will do likewise. The second of these underpinnings is "Radiant Relationships - cultivating Christ-centered relationships." The idea of these relationships is that we need to strengthen our ties with fellow believers and family starting with our spouse, children, extended family, etc., etc. This trip was my attempt to cultivate a relationship that for the most part had never existed.
After an 8.5 hour drive my brother and I arrived just before supper on Monday. Bryan and I had talked for the entire time! That is probably more time than we had accumulated in the past 59 years. After checking into the motel, we met daddy for supper at the local Red Lobster. We talked for two hours! I know that set a King men record. Daddy initiated the largest majority of the chat beginning with some of his family history that I never knew. His grandparents lived on a mountain in South Carolina and had to spend almost two hours a day going down the mountain to a spring to collect water in a large wooden barrel. He continued with a story of his dog being dog-napped not too long ago. I didn't know about the mountain or the dog!
The following morning Bryan and I toured the town on our junior high and high school years and found our way around pretty well. You know you graduated a long time ago when the gym is named for your basketball coach and the language arts building is named for your favorite teacher your senior year. After an hour or so we were picked up by our dad who proceeded to give us a five hour tour of developments he had engineered over the years. Not a three hour tour like the crew of "The Minnow" but a full five hours. He did however pay for lunch so it kind of evened out. Another two hour supper complete with a picture of the three of us and we ended with a few moments in the parking lot.
I can hear you tapping your foot and saying "Hurry up." To the point...Radiating Christ's love needs to start at home. If there are things you haven't said, or things that you haven't done, our things you haven't forgiven, or things that you never asked, let me encourage you to do it like now!
Richard
P.S. - I almost left out one of the coolest parts. As Bryan and I were on the road returning home, I received a call from my dad (he never calls) saying he had really enjoyed it.