Charleston: Heroes
“In an age that seems to idolize billionaires, equating the ability to amass a vast surplus of personal wealth with vision and competence, I would like to shift the focus slightly to lift up some really successful people. Like the person who makes a marriage work. Or the person who is a loving parent.. The school teacher and the nurse. The single mom and the guy who holds down two jobs... We have so many successful people around us, so many role models to follow, so many heroes to honor: so many people worth more than money can buy.” Bishop Charleston, Daily Email Meditation on Facebook
Eric Liddell at the Paris Olympics, 1924. He won gold and set a world’s record in the 400 meters, then grabbed a bronze in the 200, but his best event was the 100 meter dash. When his preliminary heat was scheduled for a Sunday, he refused to run because he considered it the Sabbath, a principled stand immortalized in the film “Chariots of Fire.” But his return to China and service to fellow prisoners of war are why we celebrate him today; he was held in a POW camp by the Japanese from 1943 and later given a chance at a prisoner exchange with the British, but he gave his place to a pregnant woman instead.
Josh Thomas, Dailyoffice.wordpress.com,
This is our job as spiritual friends. We are called to keep sighting and observing the heroes in our lives and the lives of friends who come for direction. We are to give thanks for these heroes, pay close attention to how they operate and how they developed to the place where they are. We observe the love they share hoping that some will rub off, and especially letting these heroes know how much you and others and especially the God of us all loves and appreciates them as well.
Jungian belief is that when we observe people we admire, we have some of their traits in ourselves but just don’t recognize them. I think this could be the Christ in each other that we are seeing a little better in another person, seeing it better in them than we can see in ourselves. It is there. Today, call or write, or visit and spend time with a hero or someone you admire in your life. If they are not alive, read more about their life and try to decide what you most admire about them. This could be even more instructional than reading about spiritual direction.
Joanna joannaeibert.com