Who's Your Hero?

A hero can be defined as a person of distinguished courage or ability who is admired for brave deeds and noble qualities.  Or as a person, who in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed heroic acts.  Or as a person who is regarded as a role model or ideal.  These are just a few of the definitions for the word hero.

Recently over on Facebook I asked the question, "who's your hero?", and I got a number of responses.  Responses that included Jesus, parents (some said mom, others said dad), Winston Churchill, the Apostle Paul, and Sam Gamgee.  A varied list indeed!

If you haven't responded yet to that question, I would love to hear who your heroes are.  Perhaps your hero is on the list above, perhaps not.  Perhaps it's someone you know, or someone you've never met but have admired from a distance.  Perhaps it's a Biblical figure.  Or a fictional character.  Or someone from history.  No matter who your hero is, I would love to hear about it.  Who.  And why.  It would be a big help on my current writing project.

Today I'm thinking about one of the heroes of my life, my daddy.  Today is his birthday.  If he were still here with us, he would be 94 years old today.  Instead, he's celebrating his 5th birthday in heaven.

Like many other daughters, I was (and still am!) a daddy's girl!  I loved my daddy.  And I admired and respected him as well.

He really became a hero to me in the last ten years of my mother's life as I watched him care for her so lovingly through those years of illness.  As I watched him sacrifice what was best for him in order to do what was best for her.  As I observed how much he loved her and how tenderly he cared for her.  As I saw the toll taken on his own health in order to take care of the one he so deeply loved.  If he hadn't already been my hero, he would have become that in those years!

But Daddy was my hero long before that. 

For putting up my swingset in the back yard.
For teaching me to ride a bike.
For playing with blocks with me on the floor after a long day at work.
For reading bedtime stories to me.

And for so many other reasons that are a big deal to a little girl.

Of all the things I loved and admired about Daddy, I most admired his love for the Lord and for His Word, his godly character, and his great faith.

Like many others who had grown up during the Great Depression, Daddy had known hard times. Yet the hard times didn't define him; his faith in God defined him.

And that's what I admire most. 

"I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."  (Psalm 37:25 KJV, one of Daddy's favorite verses)