Never lose hope for the future...

This is my oldest brother in pictures only a few weeks old. You would never guess from them the road he's come to this destination from. In my mind I go back about 1 blink of an eye (about 12yrs) when he spent most of his time in a dark room on a foam mattress drinking, smoking, and watching tv re-runs. It seemed he had given up on hope for a future worth living. Today I look at these pictures in pure and grateful amazement because I see now what could never have been foreseen. He has been living sober several years, is a consistent church praise band member, married a beautiful and mature girl, and now has a son.
These are my favorite pictures because in both of them he is looking ahead and guiding. No more looking at the self, what's behind, or in the past. The rear-view mirror has been torn off the windshield and he's looking ahead. The future now takes shape.
They are both living in the spring time. For my brother, it seems a winter has ended. For Caleb, new life has begun with a father who thinks in the now, and for the future. When the people I've seen at work have managed to bring me down, I can think on these pictures and what they show me. Then I know hope is worth maintaining. God always comes through when you hold on tight (Isaiah 64:4)