8132019 A Lesson In Biology

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PreacherK

A LESSON IN BIOLOGY

Rex with his sons Reginald Steven (6) Reginald Gabriel (2)

and Reginald Jacob (6)

OCTOBER 2012 bull KERYGMA

By Rex V Robillos

983091983095

My twin boys onceasked me why

they despite being

twins did not look exactly the

same Of course I explained

that there are different kinds of

twins mdash those who are nearly

identical and in their case

those who hardly resemble

each other Innate childhood

curiosity being what it is theinterrogation didnrsquot stop there

ldquoWhy does kuya (older

brother) look more like

Mommyrdquo

ldquoWhy do I have Daddyrsquos

eyesrdquoI wasnrsquot prepared to give the

then four-year-olds a thorough

biology lesson So I told them the

story of their younger brotherrsquos

birth right after they took him to

the nursery which went a little

something like this

Pudgy cheeks the color of fine

roses A prominent cleft chin Loud

mewling cries from lungs the size

of the Araneta Coliseum Gabriel

was a favorite at the NICU the day

he was born Yoursquod think the nurses

and midwives assigned to newborns

would already be used to different

degrees of cute but there they were

on the other side of the viewing glass

all huddled around Gabbyrsquos bassinet

fawning over him snapping pictures

and making duck faces at the little

guy

When they finally let me in one

of the older nurses looked up to me

with a sheepish grin and said ldquoOh

you must be this little heartbreakerrsquos

daddyrdquo

Thatrsquos when it hit me mdash in a

sterile room full of giggling nurseswho compared and contrasted my

facial features with my babyrsquos mdash he

was mine He was mine and other

people could tell He had my chin

they announced And my eyes and

my eyebrows To give due credit

though he did have a lot of his mom

in him too

Thatrsquos the answer I gave to my

twins Itrsquos in Gabbyrsquos genes It rsquos in their

genes Itrsquos in my genes

Therersquos a saying in Filipino ldquoKungano ang puno siya rin ang bungardquo (A

tree is made known by its fruit)

An apple tree will never bear

watermelons So it follows that my

kids and I share some of the same

traits same features and same

mannerisms

The boys lit up at that The answer

to their questions was simply the fact

that they were my children And I

wish I could have framed that moment

for them

Whether we think of it as a blessing

or a curse a part of us will always reflect

our parents mdash in skill or in physica

aspect What we have deep within us

are the building blocks of the potentials

and talents that can be nurtured as we

grow older and they werenrsquot randomly

generated or conjured from thin air mdash

they came from our folks

And this is where the genetic code

takes a much more spiritual significanceBecause the Big Boss we call Father claim

us to be His children Can we all take a

minute to revel in the privilege of that

title

We are His children His own flesh

and blood We are capable of being the

cause of that same pride and utter joy

which surged up into every fiber of my

being when the nurses figured out fo

themselves that little Gabby was my child

Friends nurture that spiritual DNA

When God created human beings He

made them like Himself mdash Genesis 51

Email me at rexrobillosyahoocom

Rex Robillos is the Feast Builder of Cavite Feast

which happens every Sunday from 1030 am

to 1230 pm at Cinema 5 of Robinsons Imus

Aguinaldo Highway Imus Cavite

PreacherK