You Make Me Proud

Adam, I am proud of you.

I am proud that you were the kind of person that so many want to remember and honor your memory. I am proud that there are two races in your name. I am proud that there are so many willing to give up a little bit of their time to run a race and give back to the community.

It makes me proud that you liked to try new things. You were great at learning about people—all kinds of people. You were going to make the world a better place. At least, you thought you might try. You learned languages that others were afraid to try. You were a heart to heart kind of guy.

I am glad I got to know you. I am glad that you called me all summer long to gripe about your breakup with your girlfriend. I am happy you called me July 15th and I took the time to answer the phone. I am holding on to the last few things you told me. I loved when you tried to teach me new things. I loved telling you when you were wrong, because you were smarter than me.

I hope that you are praying for me and all these earthly souls. I need some Grace. I always need some Grace to soften my hardened heart. Sometimes, I think that we are all lost and will not be redeemed.

But, you make me proud. You make me proud, because you always acted honorably. You were not always the best at what you did, but you sought to do good. We cannot all be the kind of person that you get out of bed early on a Saturday morning to huff up a hill 5 kilometers, just so you can say, "I did it for Adam." But, you were that kind of person. You make me proud little brother.