RoslynReynolds.com

Do You Know Any Heroes?

Posted On Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Under: Building Self-Confidence, Goals, Healing after Loss

On May 8, 2009, Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan held a dedication of a statue of Abraham Lincoln by Anthony Frudakis. Allen C. Guelzo, speaking at the dedication, said, “Heroes have become invisible. . . Great deeds somehow keep on being done, but we have lost a capacity to see them as great.”

I have noticed over the years how the media and school textbooks have focused less and less on the great deeds of past leaders and more and more on their perceived weaknesses. It’s not popular nor politically correct to honor our forefathers anymore; rather, those writers gain favor who can find some meager evidence of defects, failings, and flaws.

Mr. Guelzo goes on to say that “The hero is the story, not just of a good deed, but a great deed – a great deed which climbs the unclimbable, endures the unendurable, holds fast to the lost.” He was speaking of Lincoln, who sacrificed much to fulfill his commission to lead a nation through one of its most difficult periods of time. His description applies to all of those who, like Lincoln, have given their best for the good of humankind, and who, he laments, have become invisible.

Are heroes invisible? Not to my eyes. I have seen many instances of heroism, and of enduring the unendurable, as I’ve been interviewing widows and divorcees in the last two years. I see women, still grieving, but digging deep inside for the courage to take a class and start back on their college degree. I see women volunteering at women’s shelters, at local hospitals, and in their neighborhood. I see women putting on a smile and going out into the world, doing what needs to be done to support their family, relying on God for the strength to keep going one day at a time.

In their circumstances, it could be easier to sit back and expect others to have pity on them, to curl up and pull the covers over their heads, and try to sleep through the dull pain of each day. But these heroes I have seen realize that if they are alive, there must be a reason, and they are determined to live to find that reason and then to fulfill it.

Mr. Guelzo states that heroism is, “first of all, about profound moral conviction.” I believe that is what allows these women to keep going. They have the conviction that if God has given them another day, they are going to use it in His service, and do their best to be what He would have them be.

As Jorge F. Zeballos stated a few days ago, God “cannot require more than the best we can give; it would not be just. But He cannot accept less than our best, for that would not be just, either.”

Heroes. I submit that we are surrounded by them, and I suggest that each time we determine to give our very best, we join their ranks.

May we recognize the heroism in each other, and find peace in knowing that as we give our best, our offering is acceptable to Him who we serve.

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