Super-Great... (Inspiration for the New Year)



My bro and I when we were teenagers

I had a lot of thoughts swirling through my head for a New Years Eve post, however nothing seem to fit. Then for some reason today as I went about my household chores the words super-great popped into my mind. They brought a big smile to my face because those words are associated with someone near and dear to me, my youngest brother Enoch, who is a few years older than I am.


Whenever you ask Enoch how he’s doing his answer is almost always the same, said with a big grin, “I’m doing super-great, how are you?” And then there are the days when he’s doing super, super great. Why do these words make me smile? Well my brother has not had an easy life.


About fifteen or sixteen years ago for no apparent reason Enoch suddenly began losing his vision. This continued gradually until he went completely blind. The doctors had no idea why it happened so therefore they could not really treat what they did not know. So my family did the only thing we could do, we prayed, we trusted God we believed that he would be alright and so did he.  My brother was a fairly new Christian at the time but never once did I hear him blame God or see him sink into depression. He had faith that everything would be alright and even in his blindness when someone asked him, “Enoch, how are you doing?” He answered, with a big grin “super-great.”


Then there was the time about ten years ago where Enoch suddenly became seriously ill and was in the hospital for several weeks. There was again uncertainty as to what was wrong with him and I remember being very afraid that I would lose my brother. Memories of us shooting marbles, him teaching me to ride a bike, trying to teach me to climb a tree (no success there) and him talking me into cutting my dolls’ hair not once but twice promising that it would grow back (I was pretty gullible) played like a video tape in my mind during those endless weeks.
However, when I would talk to him and ask him how he was doing even in his illness his answer was always, super-great.

As I think about the New Year, I want my brother’s outlook to become my own. I want to speak confidently that everything is super-great even if at that moment it isn’t. I want to choose happiness, to focus more on the good, to give thanks in all things.

I want to face whatever challenges come my way in the New Year the way my brother has face those that came his way over the years.He has faced blindness with grace and courage and his vision returned months later just as mysteriously as it left.

He has faced illnesses, being in the hospital several times, having to leave his job because of being ill but never let it control his life. I am sure there were many times he had questions, he probably wondered why, but he never let it determine his attitude. He always spoke in faith that even if it wasn’t at the moment, everything would be super-great.

My brother is my inspiration. He is an example of one who chooses positivity, happiness and faith daily.

Meet my inspiration going into 2011,
my brother Elder Enoch McIntosh

 He sees better than I do since I wear glasses and he doesn’t :).

He is healthy and well.

He has been, working full time again for several years.

He’s a husband,

A father,

An elder in his church

A child of God


And as always he is super-great.


This is a mere fraction of my brother's story but I'm sure you get the idea why I think he's such an inspiration.

Trusting Him,
~Bernadine~