My true heroes

I have several people in my life that I look up to. A favorite teacher that inspired me along the way - Mr. Gilbert. My parents Ken & Linda Duckett who taught me more lessons in life by how they lived their lives than by any lectures or talks that they gave me through life. I have friends that are single Moms that I admire because of how they do the job of raising their children right in a crazy world where there seems to be less and less of morals and values yet they still instill into their children right from wrong. I have admired and respected pastors and Sunday School teachers as they have lived their lives as they do in church and been such a positive influence on so many. I have sat in awe of people who have overcame some incredible obstacles and in the end became such better people because of it.
But outside the world of those that I look up to there are those few that inspire me to be a stronger person, a more courageous person and they have taught me to challenge the enemy inside of me that tries to steer me clear from the ultimate one that I look up to and that is my Lord.
But in a separate corner of the world there are those that are more than someone I look up to. They are those that are my heroes. Ones that have fought a far more courageous fight than the trivial ones that I struggle with on a daily basis.  These are those that God has given me in my life to humble me and they are my heroes. People that have been dealt circumstances that God has placed in their lives and made them the essence of what a hero is.
Hero: a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds; a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
My dad, my cousin Sandy, my Aunt Janet and my dear and precious friend Marna and a sweet little girl named Kylie Grace. What makes these five more heroic than others? Cancer.
I watched my dad battle that dreaded disease [in the form of Leukemia] for 7 years. Through the countless doctor appointments, the {what seemed like} endless hours of chemo and blood transfusions and the after effects thereafter. Yet through it all, through the long journey that eventually took him home - he managed to keep his faith in God, his bravery to benefit those around him and his relentlessness to continue to make life what he wanted it to be - to be lived to the fullest no matter what time table had been set before him. He kept a smile for those around him, a sense of hope for us as well and the same continuous love for his family.

My cousin Sandy who battled, overcame and was victorious over breast cancer. Sandy lives in Florida so through the world of facebook I followed her path down the road that God has chosen for her and cheered her on from miles away as with each obstacle she remained positive, courageous and relentless in not giving up on what some would have given in to. The same with her mother, my Aunt Janet. Although I was younger when she received the news of her first bout with the disease, I remember constantly stories or how she would make jokes about her new hair that she put on every morning. She was the epitome of a warrior as she fought until she won.

 Then there is my friend Marna. I remember when she told me that she had breast cancer. All that she asked of me was prayers. I most certainly was willing to do that. But you feel so helpless. You have never been in that position so what do you say? What do you do? But the one thing I remember the most was every time I would check with her I know that she could sense the uncertainty in my voice that I didn't know what to say and certainly didn't know what to do. She would always reply - 'I'll be okay - it's just a bump in the road.'
I don't think that she ever realized how much emphasis that those words had on my life and how that saying has helped me overcome many smaller obstacles than she has conquered.

And last but not least - my "little" big hero - a precious little girl named Kylie Grace that has spent more time in St. Judes in her life than she has probably spent on playgrounds, She is so amazing! She knows no limitation to her vivacious outlook on life. Most of the time she doesn't feel good, she doesn't get to do what other kids get to do - but yet she lives life with the resilience that I have never seen before. Each time she has a scan the news very seldom is good - but she is fighter and she gives so much happiness to her family and the girls that played on Kylie's Krew that found so much inspiration in that little princess. Although we don't get to see her we follow her story through her Aunt and we pray for just some bit of happiness between all the treatments and the tests.

While it's easy to put your confidence in an athletic figure, an actor, or a even [I'm not sure why] a political big wig we need to realize that there are every day heroes in our lives that accomplish so much more than breaking a record for the most interceptions, saving the heroine in 10 or 15 movies or making speech that merits a quote out of it from a teleprompter to a history book.
Yes there are other heroes to be respected - the soldier who fights for our country, the Christian leader who pursues what is right. But in my eyes the heroes that I choose to think of when that word comes to mind are those that fought a fight that we can only imagine the repercussions of and did so with so much dignity and courage.
My dad lost his battle in the end but he never one time left me with an image that he was weak or that he was scared. He, like Sandy, Aunt Janet, Marna, Kylie and so many others left a far greater impression on my life. And when I find myself having a pity party over something as trivial as a financial meltdown - I think about my heroes and I think about the courage that they had to overcome far more than I deal with from time to time.
So thank you to these amazing people for the fight that you fought and the example of courage that you gave me along the way that I will always remember and I will forever be encouraged by you and the battle that you have fought that makes you a hero in my eyes.