The Middle Child

Photo of Worshiper with his father taken last Sunday (Ernie's birthday)

We are celebrating another birthday in our family today.

In 1982, twenty six years ago, Worshiper, our second son, was born.


Our eldest son came in 1980, and our only daughter, Obedient One, was born in 1984. Worshiper is our middle child.

Each of our children has a special place in our hearts. When they were growing up, we would always tell them that. First Born is special because he is the first born. Worshiper is special because he is in the middle. Obedient One is special because she is the youngest.

Though they are all grown up now, with lives of their own, each one of them is still special.

Psychology books tell of the middle child syndrome -- the difficulties, the personality disorders that tend to occur, the struggles with low-self esteem, and a host of other things.

I can only thank God that Worshiper has none of that. He has always had a quiet, and a gentle spirit.

In fact, as I begin to think of what to write about this child of mine, memories flood my mind, and I find it hard to decide which ones to include in this post.

The circumstances surrounding his birth will always be deeply etched in my heart. My mother was planning to be with me for my second child's arrival, just as she did when my eldest son was born two years ago.

When I came to know God in deeper way in the early 1970's, I would often talk to my mom about these things. I knew she was struggling about many things, and my heart longed for her to enter into the same relationship that I had come to enjoy with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But each time I spoke to her about my new found faith, it would almost always end in disagreement. So I found it best to just avoid the topic, and simply live my Christian life instead of talking about it.

In 1982 Ernie and I had been praying for God to break through her heart. My mother was a very intelligent and highly capable woman and we sensed that we needed to pray to the Father to lead her to the end of herself, and give her a chance to entrust her life to Jesus as her only Lord and Redeemer.

I had already prepared our guest room for my mother who was expected to arrive from Manila in time for my second child's birth.

But just a few days before my baby was to be delivered, my mother had a stroke. It paralyzed the right side of her body, and her speech was greatly hampered. Reluctantly, my husband broke the news to me, as I was due to give birth any time, but Ernie knew I had to know.

Clearly this was an answer to the prayers I had made, but never did I expect the answer to come this way. What happened to my dear mother really broke my heart, but at that point, there was not much I could do.

Worshiper was born at 11:30 p.m. on November 5, 1982.

My heart was grieving for my mother, but at the same time rejoicing at the birth of our second son.


This child is a gift. He has a tender heart, and an undemanding spirit.

When he was four, during the "hitting the pot" game at his birthday party, he burst into tears when the candies inside the broken pot spilled on the floor and the children started scrambling for them. He thought that the children were fighting for the candies. He clung to me asking me to buy more candies right away so that all the children would have as many as they wanted. It took me a long time to pacify him.

When Worshiper was still a little boy, my husband and I never really had to use the "spanking stick" to teach him to obey. We only had to tell him a few times what we wanted him to know, and he would remember.

Another beautiful memory that I want to share is when he was ten years old. It was 1992; Ernie and I were in the middle of a severe financial loss. Ernie and Worshiper were in a department store and Ernie was looking at a beautiful desk diary that he wanted to buy. Those were the days when we did not have much money in our pockets, and even if Ernie wanted to buy it, he did not have enough money for it. As Ernie stood there, he heard this little voice beside him asking, "Pop, do you want to buy it?"

Ernie replied, "Yes, I do... I need to have one like this for my desk."

Then Worshiper asked him, "Well, why don't you buy it?"

And Ernie had to tell him, "Son, I still have to save for it; maybe we can come back for it some other time."

I wasn't there; Ernie just narrated this incident to me when they got home. But when Ernie told me the story, my heart was so touched. This is what happened. Worshiper got his wallet out from his pocket, took out a ten-peso bill, and gave the money to his father. "Here, Papa, he said, you can use this to buy your diary." Ernie broke into tears right there in the store. Of course the amount was not enough, but we knew that ten pesos was a big amount for a little boy, and he was willing to give it all to his dad.

When Worshiper was eight and just beginning to learn to play the piano, he would often ask me to teach him how to be a "very good" piano player. He already had a good teacher, but because he asked, I taught him one technique that my own piano teacher taught me when I was small. I taught him the importance of knowing how to play the scales on different keys. So everyday, we would sit at the piano, and first we would play the scales on the key of C, then move up to the next scale, until we had played it on all the sharps and the flats... and when he knew these, I would often hear him practicing his scales. I remember telling him a number of times that with such dedication, I believe that someday he will turn out to be a great piano player, and that he will one day play great music for the Lord on the piano.

At 12, Worshiper joined our church's music ministry. And at 14, he became one of our church's keyboardists.

Worshiper has a passion for worship. He was asked to be a keyboardist for one of the bands that played for the Jesus Revolution Solemn Assemblies (Jesus Revolution is equivalent to The Call). And their band has played in several cities here, as well as in Hong Kong.

A few years ago, the Lord has impressed upon my heart that Worshiper has a Levite anointing, and having realized that, I have often prayed for this son of ours, that the path to his God given destiny will never be blocked.

One of his dreams when he was a teenager was to become a "world class missionary." I don't really know what he meant by "world class," but I know that he had a Youth With A Mission missionary from Canada in mind.

There is so much more that I can write about him, but surely there will be another time and place for that.

Today, as we celebrate his 26th birthday, I can only praise God for giving us the honor and the privilege of raising a son like him.