Sibling Revelry

A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.  Proverbs 17:17

A recent family tragedy has brought my siblings closer. We are circling the wagons around the broken-hearted one, trying to keep away any more hurt. Our attempts to protect our sibling are fierce and flawed, wholly inadequate but well-intentioned.

Thinking about how much I love my siblings brought to mind two uniquely different sibling stories. The first, a pair of siblings who failed to appreciate one another, their rivalry splitting an entire town apart. The other, a pair who remained loyal through the worst adversity, inspiring heroic action.

The first story takes place before World War II in the German town of Herzogenaurach. Brothers Adolph and Rudolph Dassler were shoemakers with an eye for the future. They understood how to market their shoes to well-known athletes. Fifty years before Michael Jordan signed his multi-million-dollar contract with Nike to endorse the famous ‘Air Jordan’ sneaker, the Dassler brothers achieved renown at the Berlin Olympics. African American Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the 1936 Berlin games while wearing Dassler track shoes -in front of Adolph Hitler. The sweet triumph of the Dassler brothers would be short-lived, as World War 2 forced the brothers to serve the Nazi party, which delayed their ability to design and market shoes. After the war, business and personality differences fractured the company irrevocably. The Dassler brothers each went on to form their own athletic shoe companies: Rudolph founded Puma, and Adolph Dassler combined his first name (Adi, as he was known) with Das, short for Dassler, to create Adidas. The brothers’ bitter feud split the town for decades. Citizens who worked for Puma didn’t associate with those who worked for Adidas, and vice versa. The Dassler brothers passed away in the 1970’s without reconciling, buried at opposite ends of the local cemetery. Thankfully, the town ended the rivalry in 2009 by playing a friendly soccer game.

The second sibling story is so incredible it inspired a movie. Betty Anne Waters, a Rhode Island waitress with a high school equivalency and mother of two young boys, was challenged by her brother, Kenny, to go to college and then law school. Kenny Waters had been wrongly convicted of murder, and upon being incarcerated, he attempted suicide. After Kenny spent a month in isolation, Betty Anne made him promise never to hurt himself again. Kenny agreed, under the condition that Betty Anne return to school. Eighteen years later, with her marriage ended and her sons living with their father, Betty Anne completed college and law school and fought to find hidden evidence to free her brother. In 2001, Kenny Waters walked out of jail a free man – hand in hand with Betty Anne.

When I reflect on Proverbs 17:17 – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity,” it makes me think of how God desires us to be good siblings. To be there for one another during adversity – be it a World War or a faulty murder conviction. Or any other tragedy or adversity.

I am blessed with great siblings. If I put them into categories – they’d be that cheesy Live, Laugh, Love slogan you see on wall art in craft stores. My older sister is Love. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and will gladly carry yours as well. Her ability to love so deeply is both a burden and a blessing. When she feels sadness, her empathy becomes her Kryptonite. There aren’t enough tissues to cover her tears. When she feels joy, she is visibly effervescent and magnetic to be around. It’s like being pulled into a planet’s gravitational pull, in the best way.

My older brother is Live. He has been around the world numerous times, with incredible stories to tell. He has often reminded me how to live my life—forward—without wasting time dipping my toes in the waters of regret. He has forced me to get out of my own way, clear my head, and recognize a real problem for what it is. His gruff advice has helped me more times than I can count.

My younger sister is Laugh. Any time spent with her guarantees I will laugh until I can’t breathe or worry about finding the nearest bathroom. I find myself unwinding near her, as she exudes a calm presence, that of a peacekeeper. When she lulls me into that state of calm, she unleashes a well-timed joke, comment, or impression that will have me wondering how she tricked me into not noticing that sparkle in her eye that I missed before she hit me with the next round of giggles.

If you are not a sibling – be a friend who ‘loves at all times.’ And if you are a sibling, I hope you have siblings as wonderful as mine. As children, it was sibling rivalry. As adults, it is sibling revelry.