Some months back when Uncle Eddie mentioned that I needed to
pay more attention to Joseph, my middle child, I was taken back. I thought I
was doing pretty well as a mother of three. Although outwardly I nodded in
seeming agreement, inwardly I was quite sure Joseph was on par with the other
two.
“Normally, the sign that the middle child had been neglected
was through him misbehaving!” He said. At that point, I realised that Joseph
had been tough to handle. He quite often throws tantrums at me and not at his father,
which I thought it was a boy thing! When he doesn't get his way, he will become
painfully rude to me. “ Are these symptoms?” I wondered. “Lord, please help me
to re-connect with Joseph again.” I prayed.
A few weeks later, I found the situation turning from bad to
worse. If Uncle Eddie had not warn me about middle child syndrome, I would have
put this down to a difficult phase that Joe is undergoing, not unlike the
terrible twos, except that this is the annoying eights!
One night, just when I thought that I was going through
another mundane bible reading, which Joe would not be paying attention most
times, I was in for a treat. The bible reading started with the arrival of
Jesus as a newborn baby. God was so excited with baby Jesus that He just couldn't
wait to share the news with His people. However, as the birthplace was so
remote, how was He going to broadcast the news without drawing unnecessary
attention? He used the stars to
lead the wise men to the manger! What ingenuity!
“Joe, could you sense that God was really ecstatic about
baby Jesus? In fact, when you were born, both daddy & mummy were overjoyed!
Our happiness was shared by your grandparents who came to visit soon after you
were born!” I exclaimed, much to my own astonishment, as I know that this could
only be divine inspiration! Normally, I would have just read the bible passage
with little to add (after a days’ work and looking after prissy, I was close to
dozing off myself during bible reading!).
Immediately, Joe’s face lit-up in a manner that I have never
seen before! He was surprised that his family was celebrating his birth! “Yes, both daddy & mummy love you
very much.” I added. “Really?” he asked. At that instant, I felt that God had
ministered to both of us and more importantly; He had bridged the gap between
Joe and me.
