23 November 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2930: the other brother

*Photo by the author, Deeann D. Mathews

“Listen, I'm not accepting that from you as long as you claim to be a Christian – every Christian man is the other brother from another mother, but the exact same Father because we are adopted in Christ. So I'm letting you know: I'm going to expose you because you are a blaspheming hypocrite and all you need to be talking about is repenting.”

“Oop,” ten-year-old Andrew Ludlow said to his brother and fellow eavesdropper nine-year-old George Ludlow as they listened to their cousin Col. H.F. Lee confronting a local minister on the phone.

“I don't see why people don't get this,” George said. “It's like Robert is our cousin and he's still our brother by adoption, and Frank Wainwright is both our uncle and our big brother by adoption, so it's not hard to understand that because Milton next door is a Christian too, he is our friend, but also our brother by adoption in Christ – it doesn't matter that he's Black.”

Andrew considered this for a few moments.

“We don't have a problem with this because we know how we could be living,” he said. “We come from drug addict parents and bad foster care situations to being adopted by Papa and Grandma, and the Wainwrights adopted Papa's lost two kids when somehow they made it out of the car instead of over the cliff – so that's another bad situation. Most people are too comfortable acting a fool toward other people to get it.”

“Wait, Andrew, that was a lot,” George said. “Remember, you're ten going on like fifty, but I'm just nine trying to live until ten. I need you to break that down.”

“People think they can afford to hate people God told them to love because they aren't in danger right now,” Andrew said. “We come from danger, so we know being together is better.”

“Oh, I got you,” George said. “I'd rather be here than foster care, and it's real easy to love you and everybody when I think about what I've been saved from.”

“Well, that's how Christians are supposed to be too – and you would think adults would get it because they've had more time to be saved from more sin,” Andrew said.

“I guess,” George said, “but clearly if folks are messing enough to need a call from Cousin Harry, they are not getting it.”

“Clearly,” Andrew said. “It's like the how the pharoah in Egypt back in Exodus didn't get it until the Angel of Death visited his house – that pastor thought he was doing good until Cousin Harry called.”

“He better get his life together,” George said.

“Yep,” Andrew said, “because if you don't fear God, you may have to learn to fear Cousin Harry, and nobody needs that in their lives.”

“Nobody,” George said.