Of Heros and the Pursuit of Greatness

When I was younger (much younger), I would often dream of greatness. Of having a name that people know, of status of some sort, prestige or outstanding skill in my field. Even today, when watching someone I admire on the news, I sometimes think, Wow, if only I could do that.

But as I am approaching 40, only days away now, I'm realizing that I've been redefining what greatness is, and often that definition is based on characteristics of those who may never consider themselves a hero, or someone to be admired.

I'm speaking of those who have taken a few seconds to write a quick encouraging note to me to let me know in the simplest way that someone out there cares, maybe that they are praying for us. It's the "ordinary" acts of kindness that mean so very much to me. Sometimes, it's that "I understand" smile from a stranger in a restaurant on a night when my tired family is acting up and should have stayed home, or a person at church who calls me to tell me of an article on autism they read recently. Things so simple, and yet mean so much. Simple acts that have literally turned a bad day around.

I'm trying to learn to live that way, too. In some small way to make someone else's day a bit better. I fail many times, but I'm learning to try more. And there is joy in living that way, in giving of myself and expecting nothing back. Of doing things in secret for someone and never seeking praise. When I am most depressed and bordering on self-pity, and face it, we all feel that way sometimes, the best therapy I know is to simply stop thinking of myself by focusing on some other need not my own. It's a bit of God's magic in it's ability to heal my broken spirit.

Okay, maybe I'm being a little philosophical here, but I just wanted to say that there are those out there, maybe reading this now, that have had such a striking impact on my life in simple ways and I doubt that they (you) will ever know it. You are my real heros. Real heros aren't superpeople, but real people who take a step to lift another up. Real heros give without taking, and the media doesn't glorify them, articles are never written about them, monuments are not built in their honor. But I believe those small acts of kindness leave a great mark on this world in ways that I bet they'll never know.

It's a legacy, as I turn 40, that I want to leave. As I enter this second half of my life, I don't want to be known for my name, or my position in this world, because the good Lord knows those things are nothing. Instead, I want to impact this world by the ripple effect of any kindness or compassion I can give. These things live on beyond me. These are the things that can change a dark world. Simple things. Small things. Things that anyone can do, but are often overlooked.

These are the things I am thinking of as I turn 40. But right now, I'm still in my 30's!

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.