2009 has been a year of incredible pain and suffering for millions of people across our planet. From natural catastrophes to man made disasters the world has experienced the worst that life has to offer and many have simply given up. Self doubt, self pity and self-loathing have rained down across our nation leaving a wide path of depression and personal destruction.
Homes have been washed away, not only by nature’s storms but also by the waves of greed and irresponsibility, careers drowned, IRA’s dried up, an economy in crisis and any sense of hope almost extinguished. Is it any wonder that this year more than any in the recent past that I can remember, we have become obsessed with Heroes?
For years public opinion polls have told us that some of our biggest heroes today, are “athletes”, …over paid, over worshiped and sometimes morally bankrupt athletes. These heroes who have been placed on the pedestals of worship in our society have been crashing down at alarming rates from steroids, gambling, sexual obsessions and a total failure and disregard to honor the scared vows of marriage. Is it any wonder when a golfer that has more money than 1,000 average families would ever need in a lifetime and a gorgeous wife and family, self-destructs on national TV? Life is more than success and money, it’s about demonstrating and living with character, meaning and purpose and it is from this group that I choose to find my heroes!
I am not discounting the heroic efforts of Capt. Sulley, Capt. Richard Phillips or Susan Boyle who all captured the world’s imagination this year. I actually had the chance to speak with Capt. Phillips wife Andrea, last week on the phone, and I told her how proud we were of Richard because at the moment when ordinary men are asked to do something “heroic” he stepped up so un-selfishly, to the plate and became a hero!
One of my favorite books is West with the Night by Beryl Markham a 20th century aviator in Africa. It is well worth reading, she was simply an amazing, strong and courageous woman (something I know a little bit about being married to Juli). My favorite quote in the book is “the greatness of a man isn’t measured in one fell swoop of greatness but rather by the daily entry in the ledger of his life”.
In the last year, and in fact in the last couple of days I have had the opportunity to recognize some un-noticed heroes that have crossed my path;
The first I stumbled across reading her blog, it is a woman I know, who in the last year lost her brother in a tragic accident and then her husband walked out on her leaving her with three small children. I had the privilege to read her private thoughts about the “chaos of her life”, what amazed me first was the unbridled love and dedication she has for her children, secondly there was a total lack of bitterness towards those that had so severely and personally devastated her life. I know her just in passing, but I realize that she represents thousands of other Moms who are left at the helm to fend for themselves and their children through no fault of their own. While I’m sure that there is fear, trepidation, and self doubt these courageous women somehow reach down deep and find the stuff that “true heroes” are made of and accept all the responsibilities that have been cast on them. One doesn’t have to look to far to find one of these heroes; they are in every community dealing with life one chaotic moment at a time. They offer each of us the opportunity to fill the ledgers of our lives with “kindness and love” by taking in just one of these Moms into our life.
The second example is a couple from my church, Mario and Sheri Ross. Each and every Sunday for more years than I can remember they have been the greeters at our church and to many visitors they are the first sign that there is something different about our congregation. Each Sunday the “ledgers” of their lives show their humble desire to serve our Lord by doling out their love and warmth. I can’t remember a Sunday where I didn’t receive a hug by both and I’m told that Mario has a secret bag of candy that he hands out (I have never been offered any candy, I guess Mario loves me enough not to want me to break the diet I should be on). I can’t tell you how much the love I feel from them means to me, especially when I walk in with the weight of the world in my back pocket. If a church is truly a hospital, a place where healing takes place then these are two of the best doctors I know.
The final example is one of my best friends. For years he has always been the type of person who truly cared about the events in your life, typically because he cared enough to notice when others didn’t. He puts his friends first and himself a distant second. He is respectful, encouraging and thoughtful and almost never says a bad word about anyone even after he went through a very painful divorce he took a pass on bitterness because it would have robbed him from the precious energy needed to love his children even more during difficult times. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and the chance that he would survive this long was less than 5%. In truth, he has done far more than survive; he has lived with a passion and a positive attitude that is simply humbling. In that time he has become “my personal hero” not only for the courageous way he has fought his cancer but also for his eternal optimism and generous spirit and his continued care about me! Knowing him has made me a better person and it has allowed me an opportunity to grow in my faith.
I believe these heroes have been placed here to demonstrate to us that we all have the opportunity to follow in their footsteps! I think the question we should ask ourselves each morning is "how do I want today's entry in the ledger of my life to read" because what we write can mean the difference between offering the world hope or adding to it's despair"!
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