One of my favorite pictures of my only brother.
I only have one brother and he’s 10 years younger than I. To give you a background, my parents had to consult a doctor to help them produce a baby boy. They even used Chinese calendar to make sure that the outcome of the baby’s gender would actually be a gender of a boy.
Frankly, I wasn’t happy when I found out that Mama was bringing my younger brother inside her womb. I even cried telling my parents, “Ako lang bunso niyo, ako lang ang baby niyo!” (I am your youngest child and I will remain your only baby!) Well… How could you ever blame a 10-year-old-kid for behaving such way when most of the people surrounding her seem to have no heart for telling her, “Ayyy… hindi ka na mapapansin ng Mama at Papa mo pag lumabas na ang kapatid mo…” (Ayyy… your parents won’t be able to give you enough attention when your brother arrives) Yes, I understand after some time that it was just a plain joke (my parents used to assure me that they love me no less) but I was just a kid… how could I ever take that kind of joke when my security was at stake?
After some explanations and an assurance that my brother was and will never be a replacement of me but an additional member to our family, I finally learned to accept him and eventually got excited to meet and play with him.
But…
My brother was proclaimed no heart beat inside Mama’s womb on August 3, 1999. My other sibling, my Atss Vhey (older sister Vhey) and I were at our house waiting for a good update on Mama’s safe delivery; yet what we received was a bad news. I was shocked. May Ate was shocked too. We (together with some cousins) prayed asking Lord God to please save my brother and our Mama.
In hospital, my parents were praying too. I remember Mama’s story that after the doctor told her that the baby was not responding and has no heartbeat, she immediately talked to God to please let her have him. Mama’s prayer was, “Lord sampung taon ko siyang hinintay. Siyam na buwan ko siyang inalagaan sa aking sinapupunan. Hayaan niyo kong patuloy siyang alagaan. Ipagkaloob niyo po siya sa akin” (Lord, I have waited for this baby for ten years. I have been taking good care of him inside my womb for nine months. Please let me take care of him more. Please bless me with this baby).
After praying, Mama pleaded the doctors and staffs to please check the baby’s heartbeat once more. They didn’t want to, but Mama was so persistent. She would not let go of my baby brother. So the doctor gave it a try and in an instant my brother was responding. How great is our God for hearing our prayers!
It didn’t end that way…
Papa had to choose between Mama and the baby. He had to choose who’s to be saved. Mama was at operating room because she delivered my brother via caesarian and was suffering from high blood pressure which made their life at stake. Papa did not want to choose, he was constant on telling the doctor to save both. It wasn’t easy, I knew it was hard because his wife and his most awaited son were in danger and he didn’t want to lose any of them. Again, through God’s grace, both were saved.
Today, my brother is no longer a baby—-he is now a big little man. In few months he will turn 14 and I will be forever grateful for his life. Gone are the days when he cried because he’s hungry or his diaper was too wet. Gone are the days when everything needs to be handed to him. For today, he is a grown up young man. Yet, in my heart he will always be my little brother—-the one I love the most, the person who I can tag along when I want to go somewhere, who never fails to make me laugh but makes me mad at times, who loves basketball and has a say on everything. And yes, he shares secrets too like crushes, text mates and even frustrations. Oh.. How time flies so fast.
I pray for his happiness and security. I pray for his wonderful future but most of all I pray that he would seek God’s kingdom more.
I am blessed for having two siblings, my older sister vhey and my younger brother Jome. The good thing about us is that, we still hang out together, plans get-away and talk things out. Well, I can’t even imagine what life could be without our brother.
And if you don’t know yet, August 3 was the same date when my Papa’s father died but with different year. Sometimes, I couldn’t help but feel that Mama was right when she told me that probably Jome was given to us to make August 3 more remarkable as we reminisce the death of a wonderful father named Rizal, we too celebrate the life of your brother Jome. Amazing!
Ann-venturous 