My grandpa was the best, a God-fearing tug boat business owner from the Philippines with great wisdom only outpaced by a prodigious amount of swag. Despite having emphysema from a long smoking history, he would pick me up from school every day when I was but a wee lad. Afterward, he would bring me to Taco Bell to get me an Enchirito when they had olives and came in that little tub with the see-through lid.

My mom was the apple of his eye, and she distinctly remembers him telling her the same thing every day when she was growing up, “Germlina, before you leave this house, I want you to look in the mirror and know that you’re good and you’re good looking too.” He continued telling her this even when she got older and went to college. One day, when she was older, she asked him, “Papa, why do you say that to me every day?” He replied, “I say that because it’s true, and when you know that’s true, you won’t be vulnerable out there in the world.” My mom grew up to be a successful career woman emulating her father in confidence and swag. She raised me the same way, always encouraging me as her father did well over sixty years ago, and I’ve done the same with my sons since they were born.

As I reflect on the influence my grandpa had on my life, I am reminded of what The Good Lord’s Word says:

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

JP Quianzon is the President of the ASD Climber Foundation. He is an American businessman with a passion for serving others and witnessing for Jesus Christ.