What Is A Poor Man Going TO Give His Son

 "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk to them when you sit in or house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.  You shall bind them as a sign on or hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.  You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates" (Deut. 6:7-9).

Hey Gang:  I remember the phone call announcing that Ryan Scott Prudhomme had touched down on mother earth, and mother earth would never be the same!  He was the first male grandson and, therefore, the patriarch of the grand kids and we soon learned that he fully intended to fill that role.   Some would say that he tended to be a wee bit strong-willed, but I choose to say, "He knew where he was going and had the confidence to follow the wisdom and common sense that God instilled him when He wired him in his Mama's womb.

We were privileged, when he was in that "three to four age bracket" for an overnight visit.  A wonderful evening was enjoyed by all but, in the middle of the night he decided it was time to go and sleep in his own bed, and he and grandpa got into a power struggle over whether Ryan would listen to me or set his jaw and let the war begin.  The war began! The swords drawn!  But I soon found he was holding a cannon and I a simple pea shooter. 

Soooo, we packed up he and his brother, Jeremy and took them home.  Now think about that for a moment, I was the head disciplinarian in the thirty-six bed boy’s treatment center at that time and he cleaned my clock! 

After Ryan learned that he had life threatening cancer, his relationship with his son changed from giving him all he could give him in the present, to giving him all he could give him while doing all in his power to pass down his legacy to his son, when God chose to call him home. 

Shortly after he and Kendra attended a family camp meeting at Miracle Mountain Ranch, Ryan wrote me a note.   It is much too long to duplicate here, but I feel the need to share some of his words with all of you who have various sized little squeezers in your lives.  He titled it, What is a Poor Man Going to Give His Son?  In my conversations with Ryan,after learning he had stage four cancer, I sensed he knew in his heart his time, until he was called home to be with the Lord, was shortened and his focus turned to preparing his family for his future departure.

Ry began his letter by saying, "I'm a rich man, but I don't have much.  When I think about my Legacy for Colton, I often think about the things I might leave him someday.  I have a few special things….".  He went on and listed some of those things, a baseball glove,  my saddle,  my Winchester rifle.

Each one of these could tell a piece of the story of who I am,  I loved sports, baseball best as dad was a pitcher in college.   My saddle was a gift from my uncle who cowboy'd out west, as I was privileged to do, which also cemented by passion for horses.  They're part of my heritage - but the story with each is so much more important.

But none of these tell ‘my story’.  He titled the part to follow "To Be Known By God”.  In September of last year he and his bride attended a family camp at Miracle Mountain Ranch.  The speaker challenged the families about leaving a legacy.  One practice the man has is that he reads through a different Bible year and, when finished, passes that Bible to a grandchild.  From this point on I will quote Ryan's words.

"This hit home with me as I stared down at my Bible.  Back home I had left the worn out, falling apart, tattered brown Bible I'd been given.  It was the same Sword my grandfather wielded for many year as he labored and fought to save kids  and families through the camp and treatment center he and my grandmother founded.  It has decades of notes, underlines, scribbles and prayers.  As I read my grandfather’s Bible, I encounter the same God he encountered so many years ago when he first opened this Book.  More than that I get to see how it impacted my ‘gramps’. 

The power of this book in his life is so evident that it jumped off the pages. I can hear his voice as I read his thoughts and it's almost like sitting here studying with him!

This book is so important to me, I had copied every line, note, jot, tittle, and scratch to "my Bible"  It too is worn and showing its mileage.  It's a blend of all my grandfather's thoughts and mine added into it as well.  It encompasses my heritage, my faith, and my personality. 

I have very little material things to leave to my son but " will leave him the most valuable thing I have - my Bible."

Oh my friends, there is so much more I would like to share about this young warrior for Christ and his bride, and I am sure he will live in future morning messages.  I close this with a heavy heart, not because he has gone to be with the Yeshua and is running leaping and praising God right now, but rather that I cannot be there and enjoy his first trip through paradise.  I send you his challenge: - Make sure you pass your legacy down to all you come in contact with.

Blessings,

Ryan's Gramps-  These devotions were started years ago as a heritage to out grandchildren