Congratulations, Adam!

My brother Adam has finally graduated from college. Almost two weeks ago (on Evan's birthday), he finally graduated from the University of Illinois at Springfield. He went online there for about 2 years, and he's now done.

When talking about my brother Adam, I of course have a lot more memories to recount than with my nephews, but I will try to keep this brief just the same. It's difficult though, as he's a great older brother. He's been around as long as I have, and while we certainly had our rocky moments (what siblings don't?), most of my memories are good!

While where to start is tough, I think I've found one point that I will pull out of the air. It is simply how proud I am of him. Ever since Adam decided to go back to school to pursue his degree, I have been amazed by him. Over the past couple of years, he has worked like mad to gain his Bachelor's. I have heard countless stories of him staying up until all hours of the night studying and working on homework because it is the only chance he has to do it oftentimes. Over and over again, I look at how busy he is with working full time each week in addition to caring for a wife (who also works full time) and two little kids. Whether or not I could do such a thing is without doubt a firm negative! I couldn't imagine working as hard as he does. On top of that, he's graduating with a considerably higher GPA than mine...not bad!

One thing about Adam that you have to understand is his forced honesty. The fact of the matter is he has to be honest because he has never gotten away with a lie in his life. Growing up, he could never get away with anything. It's kind of funny now, but it was sad then. My brother Jarod, who always got away with just about everything, and I, who got away with some things, although I wasn't as good as Jarod, looked upon Adam with pity. He just didn't have the slyness to get away with things we did. However, in this day and age, it's something that I've come to appreciate about him in that he's willing to tell people what he's thinking. If he disagrees, he'll let you know and why, rather than just smile and let you feel like you're right even if he may have info that would help you reconsider for a more educated opinion. I respect that in him, and I am sometimes amazed at just what his mind seems to process oftentimes in the areas of theology and philosophy. Some of it I understand and some of it goes right over my head. Just the same, I think it's great how he loves achieving however much he can and thinking it out.

The thing that I probably appreciate most in Adam most recently though is his desire for the Lord. This is most clearly communicated to me through his children. Evan is still a little young to communicate any type of spiritual matter as of yet, and of course Ethan still isn't a great theologian, but just the same, I can already see in Ethan a desire to do what's right for the Lord. He clearly has the faith of a child, and he loves going to church. My mom told me recently that a couple weeks ago, they went with Adam and Amy to church, and while they were there, Ethan asked my dad if he would like to see Ethan's Sunday School classroom. When Dad said sure, Ethan went off running to his classroom because he was so excited that Grandpa wanted to know more about the church he goes to. On top of that, my parents said that they sat in on Adam's Sunday School lesson that day and that Adam was absolutely the best Sunday School teacher they've ever heard! Certainly these are all strengths that the Lord has given to him, but it also communicates his desire to pursue and come closer to and worship Jesus. It communicates the relationship that's there, and I can sense it in Adam's life as well. I can sense it in his desire to stand up for truth rather than just let a lie slip by and not do anything about it. I can see it in his continued study of spiritual matters. It's absolutely wonderful, and it's just one more reason that it's great to be his younger brother.

In a nutshell, I'm simply trying to say that I'm proud of Adam and that I love him. I'm so glad that you have achieved much, and that you will continue to achieve, and I simply can't wait to see what else you will do in your life. Adam is a wonderful older brother, and I can't express how glad I am that I grew up with him.

CONGRATULATIONS ADAM!