KPreacher

By Rex V. Robillos
Rex with his sons, Reginald Steven (6), Reginald Gabriel (2) and Reginald Jacob (6).

A LESSON IN BIOLOGY

y twin boys once asked me why they, despite being twins, did not look exactly the same. Of course, I explained that there are different kinds of twins those who are nearly identical and, in their case, those who hardly resemble each other. Innate childhood curiosity being what it is, the interrogation didnt stop there. Why does kuya (older brother) look more like Mommy? Why do I have Daddys eyes?

I wasnt prepared to give the then four-year-olds a thorough biology lesson. So I told them the story of their younger brothers 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. Youd 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 Gabbys 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, Oh, you must be this little heartbreakers daddy. Thats when it hit me in a sterile room full of giggling nurses who compared and contrasted my facial features with my babys 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. Thats the answer I gave to my twins. Its in Gabbys genes. Its in their genes. Its in my genes. Theres a saying in Filipino, Kung ano ang puno, siya rin ang bunga. (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 in skill or in physical 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 werent randomly generated or conjured from thin air they came from our folks. And this is where the genetic code takes a much more spiritual significance. Because the Big Boss we call Father claims 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 for themselves that little Gabby was my child. Friends, nurture that spiritual DNA.
When God created human beings, He made them like Himself. Genesis 5:1

Email me at rexrobillos@yahoo.com.
Rex Robillos is the Feast Builder of Cavite Feast, which happens every Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Cinema 5 of Robinsons Imus, Aguinaldo Highway, Imus, Cavite.

OCTOBER 2012 KERYGMA 37