Photo Source: https://pixabay.com/en/superheroes-batman-wonder-woman-534104/ — Photo Source: https://pixabay.com/en/superheroes-batman-wonder-woman-534104/

Do you have, or have you EVER had, someone in your life you view as your hero? I have had a few in my lifetime. Perhaps there will be more to come, but for now, I remember every single person in my life I've ever seen as my hero. There are differentiating reasons, of course, and they run the gamut.

When I was in elementary school, I knew a girl that had a hard - and I mean HARD life. She came to school with bruises, her clothes were not clean, and her shoes were falling apart. She and I were good friends, though. Perhaps because we were both bullied we had a kinship. But I looked up to her. She made good grades, never complained, and always worked hard. When I found out about her home life and saw how hard she worked in school and never let those bullies get the best of her, she became a hero to me. I looked up to her and often thought she might just grow up to BE a super hero!

Certain members of my family took very good care of me. Whatever the reason, and whatever the time line, they took time from their own lives to try to do whatever it took to show me love when I was a very small child. I didn't know it then, but they have since grown to be heroes of mine in my adult years as I look back.

Many people stand out to me. But there is one instance in particular where a small group of people became my heroes all at once.

It started with the egging of our house in mid-October one year. Eh. Sometimes people make bad decisions in the name of fun, so we chalked it up to just that. Until it escalated to rotten meat, terroristic phone calls in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning, and down-right torture on a daily basis. And it lasted for MONTHS. Now who it was or why they did it doesn't matter - that's a story for another post (Or maybe it isn't. I don't want to give those crooks any more spotlight than they deserve!) End result: they were caught. Now they obviously aren't heroes of any kind. It's the people that helped us through that traumatic time in our lives.

All we did was share what was happening with friends; and those friends, Hugh Durlam, Jan-Michael Jenkins, and Derek Rogers showed up to our house, and along with our son, Cameron, our son-in-law, Sam, and The Hubster....FOR THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW ALL NIGHT LONG......sat outside our home crouched in the shadows, waiting and watching - to help capture the criminals. And they weren't the only ones! The "un-sung heroes" as I've heard it put lately - the WIVES of these men (Diana, Amber, Lauren, and Chelsea) - never complained or said no to their daredevil husbands playing the part of the Justice League.

Of course, Adrian and I did all we could to make it fun - I baked throughout the night in a dark house and made sure everyone had cookies and milk (true super-hero food!) as they lie in wait. We had walkie-talkies. We prayed. We laughed. And we cried.

When the authorities caught them (ultimately due to our vigilante nights and uncovered evidence!) we decided to throw a (costume) party in honor of our hero-friends. (Of course we did!) We gathered all those that helped.....all those heroes......and we told them to dress as their own favorite hero and come be honored at the party we dubbed 'Vigilante Vortex'. It was one of the best nights of celebration I've ever had. There was Hulk Hogan, Zombie Apocalypse Killers, Batman, Rocky, even The Lone Ranger...the list goes on! (Photos below) We played. We laughed. And we cried. It was nothing short of amazing to The Hubster and me, and filled us with awe and wonder, how these people were so willing to sacrifice and give of themselves simply because they love us.

That is definitely the definition of a hero in my book: one that gives sacrificially.

Think about all the heroes in the world. Maybe you don't know them personally, or perhaps you do. Maybe you think immediately of the soldiers who sacrifice every day. Maybe it's your mom or your dad who sacrificed so much to raise you. Maybe you think of your spouse that had to sacrifice in some way to show their love and admiration for you. Maybe it's a teacher that sacrificed and invested time in you to help set you up for success. Maybe it's a Martin Luther King, Jr., or a Rosa Parks, or even an Abe Lincoln. Or maybe it's just someone who loves you so much they have shown that love selflessly and sacrificially.

Remember who YOU are to people. Be intentional and sacrificial. Be loving and selfless. BE SOMEONE'S HERO.