Not just siblings, friends.

It seems rare to see adult children that grow up and stay close. Not just close in a worldly "we stay in touch" way, but desiring to help each other grow, sacrificially, the way a family looks in the Bible.

Lately, I've watched my children playing together, sometimes outside for hours on end, from age four to ten, coming up with the cutest games and scenarios. They have their little "huts" away from civilization, worlds of their own making, together.

It brings me a ton of joy to see my children play well and love each other this way. Other people comment on how well they get along. And while they certainly have their fights, they do better every year and are a caring gang that looks after each other. They think of each other, and bring each other gifts, have their own jokes, and even do imitations.

This has been an intentional effort by Whitney and I. We have told them as long as they could listen, you're not just brothers, you're friends. We teach against the inclination to be selfish or exclude others and reinforce their unique gifts and celebrate wins. We point to Scripture where it talks about how to be with each other. We're slowly seeing the harvest of the planting and cultivation of these seeds.

Of course, the enemy will try to divide and destroy these relationships at some point, it's inevitable, but with years of prayer, years of truth in the Word, years of training them to live and grow in this way, by the grace of God, he will not succeed in this family.