All my life, it seems, I have been expecting to come face to face with a hero.
As a little girl, my father was my hero. I don't know why, it was just a built in expectation. I think it is every little girl's belief: her daddy is smart, loves his family, is brave and will do anything to keep his family safe, protected and provided for...AND he loves them! Nobody teaches us that - it's just our honest , trusting, heartfelt expectation.
As we grow up, some of us have discovered this to be a truth whilst other little hearts have been disappointed and broken. In some cases, the protector ended up being the abuser.
Whatever our experience has been, our expectations for a hero who loves us unconditionally and passionately, shifts to the one man whom God created especially to be the prince of our life story.
We are all looking for that hero...
Why? Are we all delusional? Each and every one of us?
It is his not job, his possessions, his fame, his look or his trophies. It is his moral character! It is his courage, honor and integrity!
He leads with kindness and with respect for our weaknesses.
We know that if we all feel this way, it must be a God given expectation which would only make sense if God had deposited these seeds of greatness in the man that He created.
It has to be there. Deep in the heart of every man and boy - a desire to be a hero!
My father and my father-in-law were both men of this calibre. They didn't stop a bus and save hundreds of people. It wasn't one great heroic act. They lived it, day by day.
We always knew that while dad was around, everything would be ok. We were loved, protected and safe.
It is 21 years since my dad died. All of us, his wife, his daughters and his granddaughters (there are only girls in our family) miss him every day.
We talk about him often - always remembering, always grateful for the man that he was.
In the same way, my father-in-law loved his family unconditionally. He devoted his life to be the best husband and dad that he could possibly be. Dependable, faithful and always trustworthy.
They were our heroes!
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