Growing up in a room filled with greatness

Growing up in a room filled with greatness!

I realize after 46 years of living how blessed I was from the very beginning.  I happened, by the selection of God, to be born into a family that already had two children and was already involved in ministry.  In my early days of ministry observation I had the opportunity of spending many days watching my Grandfather, my Father and my Uncle do the preaching, teaching and leading.  After a few years of memorable observation I began to get active in ministry myself.  I knew I was in a family that had clearly had the church calling and was totally involved in it.  My mother would sing the church into heaven and the ensemble would sing people into great praise.  I was so blessed and when I consider all of it I am very thankful that the Lord chose the place for my birth and the family it was to be in.

Apostle Duane Youngblood

I called this post "Growing up in a room filled with greatness" because for most of the first 15 or so years of my life I slept in the same room as my older brother, Apostle Richard Youngblood.  My brother is four years older than I am and he was my male hero.  I paid so much attention to him growing up and listened to his every word.  He was gifted and played the drums then went to the organ.  He would dance in a way that was so profound to me.  He was Richard to many but to me he was the person I would talk about and tell my friends I would have beat them up if they messed with me.  He was also the man I wanted to be.

Having a hero matters.  I have learned over the years that the way I have looked up to him and wanted to do what he did was special and sent from God.  I am so glad that in my heart of hearts we never competed with each other, even though people tried to make us compete.  I have learned over the years that when you have an older brother who loves and respects you it is priceless.  I remember the day my brother preached his first message.  I was probably more excited than he was.  I watch him take major steps towards his destiny and he was clearly a man of faith.  Having Apostle Richard Youngblood as an older brother helped me chose the right path.

I am glad I was growing up in the room he grew up in.  Many nights I got to talk with him and listen to him and I learned his strengths and weaknesses and he mine.  I saw his passion and I saw his pain.  He taught me more about loving than any book I had ever read.  He was the only man for many years I totally trusted and he is one of the men I credit with my drive to do what I do well.  I clearly grew up in a room filled with greatness.  When I consider God allowing me to be four years younger than my brother and having the opportunity to learn from his insight and wisdom, I know the love of God and certainty of his call upon my life.

I am writing this to say to men and women all over the world that if you are an older sibling and you have pushed and managed life in front of your younger siblings like my brother did for me, you have blessed them and given them all the reasons they need to succeed. 

Apostle Richard Youngblood

When I consider how my brother now leads a wonderful church, lead leaders, host a national talk program, travels and ministers, has a successful marriage, and has fought his devils and won, I am so glad to be his younger brother and having had his great example.  I pray that all younger siblings will appreciate the sacrifices our older siblings have had to make while we sat and watched and learned.  I watched my brother fast and pray, read, study and strive for greatness.  Watching him made me go after it with all my might.  

If you have been blessed, like I have, to grow up in a room filled with greatness thank God and hold on to the person because the ties built in those days will make great sense as you grow older.  I love my brother more now than I did then because we have been through more.  I also know he has my best interest at heart and because he is still hungry I will continue to have an example of how to go after the things of God.

Thank you Jesus for choosing me to grow up in the room with Apostle Richard Youngblood.

I hope this post will allow you to celebrate those who caused you to push and inspired the greatness of God in you to arise.  If you had a Richard Youngblood in your life appreciate them because they went through so many things you did not have to simply because they were older and had no older to look up to.

In it for Jesus and celebrating his gifts in my life,

Apostle Duane Youngblood