Three times a sister

I used to call her Até Ethel. We were born a year apart. She was double my size for 12 years of my life in the elementary grades and I never won a wrestling match against her.

She stood up for what she knew was right even if it meant being the only student in the entire school against the imposition of Martial Law. She did this when the police officers came to our school and gathered the school population in the auditorium to lecture to us about the Martial Law, which was proclaimed just about a month earlier. She didn't flinch when questioned in front of everybody.

I was very proud of her even while I feared that she would be shot by a firing squad. 

She is my sister by birth.

*****

I used to call her Eting or Ting. She finally stopped growing and I zoomed past her. I guess she was glad wrestling was not the sport anymore or she could have tapped out easily under my arm triangle choke.

I got into medical school 2 years ahead of her. She first tried her hand at teaching in nursing school, but then decided to follow my footsteps.

Still her fearless self, she joined a frat/soro and her hazing was done by the batch that I had a hand in grilling. Through all the fear, pain and insult she kept her wits and survived.

She is my sister by birth… then she became my sister by creed.

*****  

I used to call her ‘tol. Wrestling is now out of the picture since it would be hilarious to see guys with grownup children engaged in a grappling match. I would admit too that our joints couldn't stand the activity anymore.

We were at the 4^th decade of our lives when I decided that I needed to test the doctrines that we were born into and raised. In my search I found out that the church of my birth was unbiblical in many doctrines and worse yet contradicted God’s holy word. I made the shift out of the church and sis gives me a stern lecture and tells me to stay loyal to the church.

She however gives in to my invitation to study the bible and go through the tests of truth and shockingly comes to the same conclusion as mine regarding the key issues of the Gospel.

With her husband and four kids she decided to receive the true and unperverted gospel and she is born again in the Holy Spirit.

She is a sister by birth, she became my sister by creed and now she is my sister by spiritual rebirth! Three times my sister.

Happy Birthday sis, love you!

that's our favorite wrestling arm lock :-)