Closer than a brother...

Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

For those who don't know me at all, allow me to offer some context prior to plowing onward. For close to eight years of my life, I have worked for an organization called Friendship Community. I have labored as a direct care advisor, working side by side with gentlemen who live in a group home environment.

Due to circumstances of birth, childhood disease, or genetics, all of these men share a common need of someone to assist them with some or all of their daily routines. I, and others like me, each spend forty or more hours a week with them, living their lives alongside them, and caring for them. The pay in this line of work, at least in Pennsylvania, isn't enough to support a single income home. The work conditions are sometimes hazardous just by nature of what is required of us, and sometimes it feels like we are unappreciated or unnoticed.* Sometimes the individuals we work with can be unpredictable, and yes some of them can become violent at times, though this is a small fraction of the folks I've known.

So, why do I do what I do? Well, I'm called to it for one thing. For another, I've come to realize that when one works so closely with another, helping them with their most sensitive care, a bond develops. This bond is so deep, it is perhaps similar to the bond one feels with a sibling. When they are happy, we rejoice with them. When they are sad, we share their tears. When they are hurting, we ache for them. When they die, a little bit of us dies with them.

In my nearly eight years working with developmentally disabled individuals, I have lost five brothers. Peter; the man who loved Coca~Cola and for some reason took a shine to me. John; the quiet one who had a gentle spirit. Curtis; the vibrant one who always wanted to do something and always wanted to be in the center of whatever was happening. Bob; the prankster and my kindred spirit who will always live in my memory with a twinkle in his eye and mischievous smirk on his face. And most recently, Patrick; the servant who loved everyone and loved to do whatever he could for anyone else.

These men and those others still living are why I serve as I do. They are the reason I pray that God will continue to provide so I can continue to do the work I love with the brothers and sisters I've come to know.

Eight years ago, I was unemployed and wondering what God had for me. Now, eight years later, I am thankful that He brought me into this life of uncertainty. It is far from an easy life, and the work, though not always physically taxing, pulls on the heart and can be very spiritually draining. And even then, despite the heartbreak, the rewards are so immense. How else could I ever have an opportunity to be a part of so many families? How else could my life be touched by such amazing and wonderful people?

God has me here at this place in time for a reason. It is by His love and His will I continue to make friends with those who continue to become closer than a brother. I will be my brothers' keeper.

* The above statement is not intended as a reflection on Friendship Community. It is a general sentiment shared with me by others who work for various organizations.