All of us know the story Jesus told of the son who demanded his inheritance and then squandered it in wild living, came to his senses, and went home to find a father ready to forgive and a party waiting to be thrown. But there were two sons in the story. The older son is the one who cried out to his father, "I've stayed with you all these years and you never threw a party for me!" He's used as nothing more than an example of arrogance and ungratefulness, but that son's heart was also far away from home. Sue Thompson calls him the prodigal brother, and his story is her story.

Sue's younger brother was on drugs by the time he was in junior high school, and her parents sacrificed their lives to his needs. She was filled with frustration, anger, and unforgiveness for a family that seemed to implode regularly and left her feeling like an outsider in her own home. Her heart was lonely with the need for acknowledgement and forgiveness, and she had to make a journey to the Father's house where she found that she was invited to the party. Those of us who were the "good kid" in a family where there was a prodigal need to be seen by the One Who counts the most.

Sue is the author of The Prodigal Brother, a Focus on the Family book published by Tyndale House. She has been speaking to audiences for more than twenty years on topics ranging from finding one's place in the Body of Christ, how to be used by God, the necessity of every member, and the importance of living in forgiveness and gratefulness. Sue has been a guest in churches, fellowships, and women's meetings throughout the country. She has been a guest on numerous radio shows, was the subject of a feature on the TLN television show "Aspiring Women" with Tammy Maltby, Shirley Rose, and Michelle McKinney Hammond, and has seen her articles published in Focus on the Family Magazine and Brio. She is also a contributor to Tyndale's The One Year Life Verse Devotional. Contact Sue through People Set Free Ministries (www.peoplesetfree.org).