Thinking on Heroes...

I was thinking about heroes today and remembered that I made a post on facebook back in May. A lot of stuff was going on and that is what perked me to write it in the first place. I have decided that I would re-post the old blog on here and give my follow-up thoughts. So, here is the previous...

Did you have a favorite superhero when you were younger? I’m sure we all did at some point. Superheroes are people with an enormous amount of strength and extraordinary talent and ability. They exemplify just what we want to be. They have characteristics that we want to possess. At some point though, don’t all superheroes reach a point of brief defeat? We think it is the end to our favorite superhero and sense doom for them. We decide that it is not worth the effort to believe that our favorite superhero will make it.

Isn’t it the same with the people we consider heroes in our actual lives; the REAL lives we live everyday? God places people in our lives that are heroes to us. A hero is someone who has distinguished courage or ability. We lift them up on a pedestal in hopes that they can conquer anything that comes their way. We count on them to never fall, yet they also have a point of brief defeat every now and then in their lives. We believe so strongly that our heroes can’t fail that when they do, we tend to want to give up on them and choose someone else to be our hero.

What I have come to realize though, in the past weeks, is that when our heroes fall, we can’t just walk away and choose someone else. We believe they have done so much to reach hero status that they just can’t let us down. But where are we when they do? Is it right of us to walk away? BY NO MEANS! They were there to teach us so much, to walk us through our hard times, why do we think that we can’t walk beside them in theirs? Our heroes need us just as much as we need them. We all go through hard times and too many times flee when it gets ‘too tough’.

I have learned that no matter what struggle comes our way or in the way of our heroes, we can’t ever give up. We have to keep on going. We must press on. The Power Team is a ministry that essentially breaks things to win people to the Lord. They performed feats of strength that I’m sure they have done time and time again, yet you could still see the pain on their faces of the agony they were going through. I watched them over the course of three nights and walked away with learning this from them: No matter how many times we face the same kind of pain and no matter how much it hurts; we have to keep going and overcome the difficulty and pain and in the end, it shows our strength rather than our weakness and then comes testimony. We can never give up. NEVER. And we can never let our heroes give up. And ultimately, we can never give up on each other. We have to show them love and help them to remember that they can make it through.

And the latter...

I have realized over the past 4 and a half months as I have watched my hero grow, that she is even more my hero now than she was before. A friend brought it to my attention that a hero might possibly be a hero because they have overcome the fall they faced and risen again rather than not ever failing at all. While my hero faced a point of brief defeat in her life, she rose above the plans that the enemy thought he had for her and walked in what our Father had in mind. She has come through this storm clinging to the cross with all she had. In my hero's point of brief defeat, she has not failed me in the least bit. She has only made me believe in her all the more. I have learned through her experience that you can still be the person God calls you to be even though trials, temptation, and tribulation come. She has put her faith and trust in God to bring her back up and to walk through the storms. I continue to learn so much from this person each and everyday. She is and has been and will continue to be my inspiration and such a blessing to me.

I have seen this wonderful friend/hero of mine blossom in such a wonderful way and I want to tell her again how proud I am of her for growing as she has. I want to let her know how grateful I am to have her as a hero and to have her in my life. Melissa, God blessed me with you and I could never have enough words to say to thank you for being who you are and for constantly being the inspiration that you are. God has molded you into a beautiful person and I can't wait to see how He is going to continue to use you to enrich His kingdom. Always know that no matter what, I am pulling for you and will be here, walking with you every step of the way. You are amazing. I love you.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I am so grateful for this word from His Word. God is so gracious to offer us friends to share our lives with. I spoke with one of the girls in the student ministry at the church I go to and shared this scripture with her. As I shared it, I realized that when we are at our lowest moments, it is so great to have people with us. Often times, we want to seclude ourselves and keep people outside the walls that we like to hide behind. These walls represent the boundaries we think we have to keep ourselves safe, but in all actuality they are there to block people from being 'in' on what we are facing. It puts us in danger because we can't guard ourselves from every area. If we block everyone out, who is there to help us up when we fall in a pit within the walls? Nobody. Nobody is there to help us because everyone is 'out'. Why would we want to have that happen? We as people need encouragement from other people who may have gone or are going through what we are going through. It gives some sort of comfort to have someone there for us.

I have gone through many trials, tribulations, and storms in my almost 20 years and I have come to know that while I have God with me and on my side, it is also great to have someone beside me; a physical person that God provides. He has helped me to break down many walls and also used different people in my life to break some tough walls down. If you have walls built up, consult the Father. I know how hard it is to have them broken down. Believe me when I say that it is a relief when the walls are gone and the chains are released. Our Father is a Healer of many hurts. He has a promise that no one can beat. Seek Him out and let Him break you free from your walls.