Finding Emotional Support in Unexpected Places

I’ll never forget what he told me that day at his house.

He said he had cheated on me and she was pregnant. My world came tumbling down on me. We had started planning a life together, there was a ring and a date. And now it was over.

I knew I couldn’t go back home. I needed to express my thoughts, hurt, and most importantly cry. The only words that I could get out in between my sobs were “I need my brother.”

It was one of the darkest moments of my life. I felt so alone. Once I got to my brother’s house I collapsed in his arms; he held me until I stopped crying.

You might be surprised he was the first person I called. A few years ago, I would have probably been surprised too.

My little brother and I have come a long way. We weren’t always this close and didn’t always get along. I think it had a lot to do with our eight year age difference but despite our differences, he is my best friend. I know when I’m worried or I can’t figure something out he is the first person I’ll call.

I often call him my answered prayer. I remember at an early age I told my parents I was sick and tired of being the baby. I wanted to have someone to protect and secretly boss around the way my older sister did to me. I prayed that God would not only give me a younger sibling—I specifically wanted a little brother. A week before my eighth birthday my prayers were answered.

I probably tell my sister-in-law the story of the day he was born every year on his birthday, and yes I cry every time. I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was filled with so much joy. Joy that quickly went away when the reality of not being the center of my parents’ or sister’s attention set in. I got what I call and hate to admit, “Middle Child Syndrome.”

I would act out because in my eyes my sister got the attention because she was the older one. My brother got the attention because he was the younger one and the only boy. When I’d act out or express my feelings my mom would tell me, “Luz, what makes a sandwich? The middle.” That’s when I’d roll my eyes and laugh.

As my brother and I grew older, we grew closer. My plan when I was praying for a younger brother was to always be his protector and to be there for him. Yes, I still protect him, and I am there for him. But never did I think that the tables would turn and he would be there for me and protecting me.

Big sister Luz keeping an eye on her brother on his wedding day.

It’s just funny how relationships can change. Sometimes the people we need most are the ones we least expect. So I’m happy we’ve allowed our bond to grow and change. Rather than seeing him as just my annoying kid brother or he seeing me as his bossy older sister, we see each other now for who we are.

I’m thankful for the loving, intelligent, and hilarious man he is. Life would’ve been so different without him, I would’ve been so different without him. Even though he might be over 6 feet tall and married now—to me he will always be my baby brother, my answered prayer.

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Luz

Luz is a proud Texas girl born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, about 15 minutes from the Mexican border. Her large, tight-knit Mexican-American family has given her the best example of what love can bring. She is part of I Believe in Love because family is love and even though love is never perfect, it is always worth the fight.