T+ 157 Grandpa's Power Rangers

BOX SCORE	10/11/24
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	13.3	13-17	^
Platelets	218	140-375	^
ANC	3420	1800-8300	^

Our grandson, Judah, is 15 years old. He is an A student, soft spoken, polite almost to a fault, and a holder of several world titles in free style martial arts. When he was little, he loved to watch the "Power Rangers" on TV. He became interested in swords of all descriptions. At about 7, he enrolled in "Karate" classes at a dojo in San Diego, just like his older brother before him, and his younger brother after him. By the time he was 9 he became the youngest member of the dojo's senior demo team. The team competes at the national and international levels with teams from North America and Europe; I am not sure about other areas of the world. Suffice to say, this is a bit bigger than playing basketball at the local YMCA. 

Here is the Demo team's winning performance in Las Vegas in September of this year. 

As Judah has grown and learned his skills, he has focused on being the best at what he does. The remarkable thing is that he has never lost his humility. He asks his family to pray with him before every performance. Here he is winning a competition in the ISKA World Championship tournament, earlier this year.

Lest you think that I brag about Judah because he is my flesh and blood, let me set the record straight. Judah is the middle son of Jill's younger daughter; he is my grandson by marriage. Don't expect to see me doing any of these things, because it "runs in the family." If it's possible to have more than two left feet, I'm your man. But, Judah's mom and dad have done me the honor of having their three boys call me Grandpa, since the time they were able to talk. Am I proud of that? Well, I should say. But I am even more proud of my grandsons. They have all studied martial arts and become better men for it. Judah's older brother Josiah is a sophomore in college, and his younger brother Malachi is a third grader. Each of them, in his own way, is every bit as impressive as Judah. I think of them as my Power Rangers.

I guess the obvious question is "Why are these boys so special?" You could say, of course, that grandpa is biased, and I couldn't argue with you. But I believe there is another answer. Their parents are Bible believing people who have brought their boys up according to God's principles. 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
    the fruit of the womb a reward. (Psalm 127:3, emphasis added)

 ⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

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

 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:10)

These boys show all the signs of growing up to be men of whom their parents (and grandparents) can always be proud. In some ways, with all of the bad news in the world and all of the negative stories about young people, it seems like a miracle when some of them turn out to be solid citizens. And I guess, in a way it is. 

God has given us His word through some amazing people who walked with God and wrote down what He directed them to write, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Those words have survived for thousands of years. The Holy Bible is the world's most venerable and best selling book in history.

People have expressed admiration and, perhaps, even awe about my journey through leukemia and bone marrow stem cell transplant. But I can't take any credit for these things, except to the extent that I relied on God to carry me through. He has empowered me for this journey, just as he empowers my grandsons to be the fine young men they are. I hope that in some little way, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I can join them as one of God's Power Rangers. Perhaps, spending a little time reading "the Good Book" might inspire you to be a Power Ranger!