A Tale of Two Brothers
Each family is different, and the relationships between family members vary. I come from a large family. We love each other, but we live separate lives. In a family emergency or a time of special joy, we come together, and we try to keep in touch.
In Meadow Song, we are introduced to the Chambers brothers, Mark and Jack. The story focuses on Jack, the younger brother, but Mark is an important secondary character. Melody of Life continues where Meadow Song leaves off, and Mark is the focus.
Jack and Mark have a strong bond that has brought them though tragedy and loss. Jack here shares some of their backstory.
Mark Chambers is my big brother, and we’ve been through a lot together. I thank God for Mark, who, when our wonderful parents died in a plane crash when I was thirteen, stuck with me. I became angry at my parents, God, and everybody. At eighteen, and a high school senior, Mark couldn’t legally be my guardian, so our great uncle George came to live with us so we could stay together.
Except for Uncle George and a few far away cousins we’d never met, Mark and I had only each other. That was hard for me because my friends talked about their families, and where they went and what they did, and their moms and dads attended school events, and I resented them. For a couple of years, I was a real brat.
Although retired, Uncle George’s mind was sharp, and he could get around well enough. The most important thing he did for us, besides keeping us together, was that he made us continue to go to church. Mom and Dad were Christians, and Mark and I both received Christ as Savior as children. I’m sure Mark would have continued to go on his own, but not me. I tried every excuse I could think of. But, unless I was sick, I was there. The teaching and preaching of God’s Word and God’s love expressed through our church family helped me through my teen years.
Mark graduated from college, got a job, and married Rachael, a wonderful wife for Mark and a big sister to me. When Uncle George passed away, it was just Mark and Rachael and me, until Mark and Rachael’s sweet daughter, Blythe, arrived. From the beginning, Blythe had Uncle Jack wrapped around her finger, and she wrapped herself around my heart. Rachael had asthma and allergies and was susceptible to pneumonia. The day my sister-in-law died, my world crashed again, and I determined to never marry because it was too hard losing someone you love.
Rachael’s death left Mark’s heart torn, but he had Blythe to care for. Whenever he had to go out of town for his job, I became Blythe’s caregiver and loved every minute of it. She was such a sweet and loving little girl, we had to be careful not to spoil her.
When Blythe discovered Kate Greenway painting a picture of the wildflower meadow beside her house one day, Blythe sort of adopted Kate. And she tried to convince me to marry Kate. Of course I resisted, but Blythe persisted. I fell in love with Kate, but I still refused to consider marrying her. Then Kate went home to care for her mother who had cancer, and tragedy struck again, and everything changed.
Mark has faced so many losses, but he is still strong in his faith and trust in God. There have been times lately when I’ve had to be the one to walk alongside him, and it has only drawn us into a tighter bond.
Alana Somers was Kate’s college roommate. She and Mark have become friends, but Kate and I wonder if God has something else planned for the two of them.
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