He was there from the very beginning. I have never known a life without my brother.

He taught me so much… Starting with climbing out of my crib when I was an infant, which later led to climbing up ladders and jumping off of them, and then climbing out the window onto the roof, climbing trees.. etc. (yeah, there was a lot of climbing involved in my childhood..lol)

He taught me just how fun (and painful) it is to go down the stairs in a laundry basket. He also hit me in the head with a metal baseball bat, which really really hurt….

You know it’s a miracle I’m still alive and fully functioning… (that last part might be questionable though… lol jk)

We used to make up imaginary friends… Actually, they were more like imaginary enemies because we hated them.. We were weird, what can I say.

He always beat me at Mario Kart… (he still does)  We took ballet together, and did school together. We did almost everything together.

We worked at the same jobs, which was quite the experience. I was always referred to as “Isaiah’s sister,” but I was okay with that.

He was the ultimate best friend, although I never realized that until I got older… He has always been there for me.

We’ve had our ups and downs…. There have been many times when we didn’t get along, but that’s siblings for ya.

Last summer I went on a two-month trip, I had never been away from home that long, so I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to keep up with everyone in my family. But, we texted a lot, and he called me once a week just to ask how I was doing, tell me about what was going on in his life, and assure me that he missed me. Many nights I was up late, talking to him for hours. Even though we were far apart in distance, I feel like me going away brought us closer together.

We’ve never been the “touchy-feely” type, like “Eww… he’s my brother I don’t want to hug him, that would be weird.” But yeah, that changed too. When I got off the plane from my trip he was the first person to greet me and give me a hug, and it was nice…. and I cried…. a lot…. because I missed my best friend.

So, Isaiah, Happy 20th birthday! I’m so very proud of you and all your accomplishments in life. Thank you for encouraging me, teaching me, annoying me, and being my partner in crime. You’ll always be my favorite older brother. 😉

I pray that Yahweh will give you a vision for your life, and the courage to pursue your wildest dreams.

May Abba bless you and keep you; make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; lift up His countenance upon you, and give you Shalom.

I hope your 20th year will be your best yet!

I love you, buddy!

Sincerely, Bri