THROW BACK TO THE FUTURE

It feels funny-weird―to see yourself in your son's kid.

Take for example three year old Natalie, our apo this part of the planet (USA; the other two, Joaqui and Charlize, live Down Under).

"You look just like her," my older sisters tell me, recalling how cute I was when I was that age―wide eyed, expressive nose (like an airplane taking off the runway), pouty lips; and because just like Natalie, I sported full bangs with my bob.

I probably score higher in the tantrum department. Natalie may scream louder―enough to shatter a mirror; but my tantrums were wilder. A face-the-wall is all she ever gets. I remember getting the belt after Tatay caught me throwing shoes and bakya from the top of the stairs on my biggest tantrum yet. I never dared throw another after that.

One big tantrum prior resulted in my high chair keeling over and me falling with it. (Yes, may high chair na nung panahon ko!) Taught me to never to kick and misbehave at dinnertime.

This same deja vu feeling comes when I realize that my habits―such as the way I house-clean, dish-wash or recycle food into new dishes―are throwbacks from my mother's ways.

I even see in my convoluted shape today her multi-storied tummy and exact same wrinkles which she used to slather with tons of lotion. No wonder I go gaga over lotions, especially at my age.

Our hereditary characteristics or looks are of course a function of our DNA. But we also become our mother or father's clone as we unconsciously take on their habits, be they good or bad.

   

We can't do much about the way we look, can we? But parents can nurture children of character through their example, their works speaking louder than their words, and guided by biblical truths:

   

Luke 6:43―"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit."

Proverbs 22:6―"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from it."

The most valuable inheritance? A character of integrity!

Material riches perish. The acquiring of knowledge stops at some point. Beauty fades. But a godly character can see one through thick and thin, giving him the passion to pursue his God-given purpose―till the very end of his life.

2Timothy 1:5―"For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well."

Reared by devoted Christian women, Timothy, the apostle Paul's trainee, pursued a calling which dramatically touched lives.

Kids will be kids. They will always want to have their way. Natalie is at that stage, testing her limits. But for as long as the adults around her keep the love-discipline balance, she'll grow up to be a fine individual, just like her parents.

"Come closer to me, you might fall off the bed," Natalie cautioned her mom as they snuggled in bed.

"Nice shoes, Lola Yay!" said she when she happened to glace at my feet when I stepped into the car.

Hmm… the makings of character?