Karate Kid made me think

I was watching the "new" Karate Kid with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith yesterday, for probably the 5th time. In the original Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio movie, there's a scene where Mr. Miyagi is drunk and sad, and it was due to his memory of the passing of his wife and son. It looked as though it was a ritual, where he dressed up in his own military uniform to re-live the moment. In the "new" movie, Jackie Chan (Mr. Han) basically rebuilds a car through the year, then destroys it on the anniversary of the day where his wife and son were killed in a car accident.

Why am I mentioning this? It just hit my brain when Mr. Han mentioned the date when that happened. June 8th.

For us, the significance of June 8th marks the beginning of Luke's chemotherapy. On June 8th of this year (2011), God-willing, Luke will complete his 1st year of chemo, with 2 years and 3 months to go after that to complete therapy.

As I reflected on the Karate Kid movie, I was thinking about how a wise instructor like Miyagi or Han would take time through the year to build up to what appeared to be a destructive moment every year. Then again, maybe, as Han rebuilt that car through the year, maybe he was reflecting on life, etc.

For us, the year anniversary of Luke's chemotherapy and recovery marks a period of miracles, mercy, love, and grace. What's different from the movie? We look back, not in sadness, anger, rage, or guilt, but rather, with thankfulness of the past, and hope for the future. Into His mighty hands do we commit Luke and our family. May the Holy One be with all of us. WIth our family and friends and well-wishers, may His face shine upon you!

Luke likes playing video games?

Thanks to Uncle Manoj, Luke seems to have developed an interest in playing video games. For him, it's not about winning, it's about playing the game. It's really fun to see.