Real Heros

I never got to be the hometown, high school football hero. It was always a dream of mine when I was a boy. I really didn’t want to be the star of the team. I just wanted to be the kid that came off the bench and made the one big play that wins the game. It was not to be, however. In spite of running, lifting weights, staying in shape, and always trying my best my football career never made it beyond Junior Varsity. I guess God wanted me to learn early on that real heros aren’t just found on the football field. They are found everywhere.

It took me a while but thankfully I finally did learn this lesson. I now know that real heros aren’t the athletes or celebrities you see on television. They are the people who live everyday with courage, strength, faith, and love. My three children are all heros. My two boys deal with the challenges of Autism everyday but still make this world a happier place for others with their sweet laughter and gentle love. My oldest son is only the water boy for his football team, yet his contagious joy inspires the players more than a star quarterback ever could. My daughter is about to graduate high school but already has the wisdom, kindness, and love of one beyond her years. She is going to make a difference in this world even if she doesn’t realize it yet.

My children aren’t the only real heros I know either. I have seen heros in all walks of life. The single parent raising 4 little children on her own is a hero. The terminal patient spending the last years of her life loving, helping, and bringing joy to others is a hero. The volunteers who spend weekends and vacations helping the poor, sick, and needy are heros. Every loving soul who makes this world a better place is a hero to God.

God wants you to be a real hero too, not on the football field but on the field of life and not in the eyes of the world but in the eyes of Heaven. Open your heart then and let your hero out.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella Copyright © 2008 (joecool@wirefire.com) -- submitted by: Joseph Mazzella ]