Y-O-U

This time, the unsung hero is YOU. You are wearing the armor of God (Eph.6:10-19) You have no idea what effect you may have today on someone else--but more often than you know, you will be a hero/ine.
Perhaps it's a bad day for you. Things are not right in your world, and there are certainly enough worries for everyone these days. But you are alive, a child of God, loved by him and shielded with this armor. Think of the rainy days as if you are walking with a large umbrella and someone you barely know hops under with you. Getting out of the heavy rain. Finding shelter. Being grateful that you are there in that time and place.
This is the kind of love and protection that is always there for us. And in return, we can be for each other. Every day, heroic opportunities await us. Every day, each of us can be an unsung hero/ine for somebody. Somebody just like us.

A Dentist as Unsung Hero/ine?

Prov. 25:19 says Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint. Hmmmmm. Right now I can relate.
About a month ago I cracked a piece off a tooth. This is the 6th time I've done this. Growing old is not much fun sometimes. The first 4 times I cracked a tooth, I had each extracted as soon as the word "root canal" was spoken. Well, 4 is about all I think one can safely lose, so for the 5th, I had the cap and crown, particularly since the dentist did not say the unmagic, unholy words, "root canal". The fifth worked out well. One month ago, the 6th cracked. Again, no bad words were said. So, I had the cap and crown. Last Saturday when I was expecting 19 for dinner in honor of my mom's 80th birthday, that cap and crowned tooth gave me pain like I never have felt before! I called my dentist and he ordered antibiotics, pain medicine and said come in on Monday. Monday morning he gave me the bad news about "root canal". I decided to get a second opinion from an expert in the field of root canal--something I once thought of as perhaps the tortorous path to hell. Today I met this unsung hero. (And if EVER there is an unsung hero/heroine big time, it must be a dentist. I know God must love them because NO ONE ELSE DOES!!!) My root canal doctor pulled the traitorous pulp out of the dentine, packed that space with medicine, and fixed that tooth in no time flat. And I was out of the chair in less than 25 minutes which included drilling through the cap and crown. This hero was gentle and a real pro. Of course, as you can imagine, I prayed for myself and for the dentist too. Prayer was answered. When you think of the person you love and admire the least, remember that God loves him/her just every bit as much as God loves you (maybe more). And even a dentist can be a hero/ine. And even a dentist can show you the face of Christ, if you look for that Face.

Bicycle Ride

Yesterday I had a wonderful bicycle ride down an ocean road. I often think when I'm riding my road bike that this must be what heaven is like, riding down a road on my bike, seeing birds and big sky, and feeling the ocean breeze. Perhaps it is that I hope that is what heaven will be like. Anyhow, as I took this ride and thought these upbeat thoughts, a fire rescue truck came by with the siren blazing. I felt a bit sad about this, knowing someone was having a problem somewhere, but I rode on. In about 6 miles, I came to the "scene" of the rescue. It appeared that a young, thin, attractive man on a three-wheeler had been hit. He was OK, but quite shaken, bruised, and a bit bloody. He was so grateful for the attention he was getting and the man who had clipped him was crying and saying, "sorry, so sorry, forgive me" over and over. All the while, the young man kept being cheerful and thankful for the attention. This young man is my unsung hero today. He was a mentally challenged gentle soul not at all thinking of himself, but of all those around him. Instead of anger, he showed love. He was brave. He was forgiving. I don't know if he understands his Christ-like presence. But I saw Christ in him, and felt grateful for that moment in time. Some of my happiness faded though in the face of the pain that I know he feels every day. Like Job, many challenges face this man. And, like Job, he seems to stay gracious. I am humbled in the face of this. Eph.4:31-32

The Cross

Today our priest spoke about the Cross symbol. It was wonderful to me that he pointed out something I should have realized years ago. The fact is, that in Christ's time, the Cross was not a symbol to be honored as we do by bowing, by displaying, by revering (or even by wearing as jewelry around our necks). The Cross in Christ's time was a symbol of disgrace!
Another priest in another church who helped me along my way brought home to me the fact that if I had been the only person alive, that Christ, indeed would have still suffered on that Cross. When we think of that death, we must understand that our individual personal sins are what Christ died for, so that they could be forgiven. It is my own sin that I think of now when I see a cross.
My mother spoke disparagingly of someone recently who was "living in sin". I gently (at least I hope it was gently) pointed out that we all are--living in sin. This is my "Unsung Hero/ine" today; the person that my mother spoke of who is "living in sin". I remember those lines, my very favorite in all the Gospels, found in Luke 23:42, when Jesus reassured the person hanging on the very cross next to him. When that man said, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into Your Kingdom", I know that all of us will be remembered, and forgiven.

Grandchildren as Unsung Hero/ines

Grandchildren are fun. They are precious, cute, perfect (we aren't responsible for them...8-), and wonderful. Are they Hero/ines though? Today is my grandson's birthday. He is 4 today, so I mulled over the idea of whether or not he could fit into my unsung hero/ine blog. Of course, I must include my granddaughter too. We know that young children can bring joy to folks in nursing homes and to so many people's lives. But they get lots of feedback for those good times. Are there times when they don't get the credit they deserve? I say yes after thinking this over. Throughout my aging process there has never been a time that I would look back and wish I were this age or that age. Every year is better than the last. Even though my children were more than I deserved, and I absolutely loved being a stay at home mom with them, and those were great times, this day I have is still the day I hold in highest esteem. I don't look back and say that was a better time. And I definitely think that being a child, 4 or 8 as my grandchildren are, is the hardest time of all. All the un-understood quirks of other humans that we inhabit the planet with are really mysterious to children, and often nonsensical. And they are surrounded by bullies and jerks and insensitive people. All this time, they are trying to find their way to themselves. It takes a long time. So, they are my unsung hero/ine candidate for today, the children, the grandchildren, all of them around the world......but especially those in my world. Happy birthday T and lots of love to G. Surround yourself with the armor of faith and all will be well, but nothing will be easy. Read Eph.6:11.