We’re exhausted from four days with five wonderful grandchildren, ages two to 10. As supper was served the first night, eight-year-old Judah said, “Grandpa, tell us a joke,” as if I could produce jokes on demand. How do you say no to the bravest little boy on earth who looks up at you from his wheelchair? Well, a joke came to mind. So I told it to him and Eowyn, Aaron, Haddie and Aria.

“Just a Cat”

Three men, two of them very bright, one not so bright, are escaping from prison.

Judah loves it so far.

The first guy climbs a wall and drops quietly to the ground. A guard hollers, “Halt! Who goes there?”

“Meow,” says the first man.

“Aw, just a cat,” says the guard.

The second prisoner climbs the wall and drops quietly to the ground.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

“Meow,” says the second man.

“Aw, just a cat,” says the guard.

The third prisoner climbs the wall and drops quietly to the ground.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

The third man, who’s not so bright, says, “Just a cat.”

Judah howls with delight. “Tell it again,” he says, smiling widely, rocking back and forth in his wheelchair. And the others chime in, “Tell it again.” So I do.

Praying. Hoping. Leaning.

It’s no wonder this brave boy loves a joke about escaping.

Two years ago, Judah first complained of leg pain. Diagnosed with an inflamed hip, he rested for six weeks while his parents administered anti-inflammatory food and medicine. He seemed on the mend, but no one knew that an infection hidden deep in the bone was slowly growing. Soon he was unable to walk. The pain worsened. When asked how he was doing, he responded, “I’m getting better.”

But he wasn’t. A high fever brought him back to the doctor. Concerned doctors had him rushed to the hospital for immediate care. Judah’s pastor daddy stayed by his side for two weeks as test after test confirmed what was going on and the meds started to work.

After a summer on antibiotics, he returned to the hospital, where it was thought that an MRI would show the all-clear. Instead, his parents listened in disbelief. The infection was still going strong, and they would need to operate on the bone. Again, Judah’s daddy stayed by his side during the month-long process and finally Judah was cleared to come home with strict instructions to stay in the wheelchair for six months as his leg heals.

So here we are. Praying. Hoping. Leaning on Jesus and a praying community and a loving church.

How do you say no to the bravest little boy on earth who looks up at you from his wheelchair? PHIL CALLAWAY

Watch That First Step

On the day Mommy and Daddy were told that eight-year-old Judah’s leg bone was still infected, his mom opened a devotional app for encouragement. The topic was Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones. Later that day, she opened her Bible app. It, too, was talking about, guess what? The valley of dry bones, an ancient prophecy in which God promises captive Israel, “I will bring you back.”

Through tears, she determined to hold on to that promise, that God would breathe life into Judah’s femur through the long days, weeks and months ahead.

Today, there’s still no end in sight, and though the wheelchair is a fixture in their home, the peace that accompanies God’s promise has not diminished. “God is in control,” says his mother, “and He loves Judah.”

And now, Judah is begging me for another joke. How can I resist?

“Judah, I came into the house and told Grandma, ‘I just fell off a 50-foot ladder.’ “

She said, ‘Should we rush you to the hospital?’

“ ‘I’ll be OK,’ I answered. ‘It’s a good thing I fell off the first step.’ ”