Kathy runs a ranch that counsels and provides therapy for both horses and children from tough backgrounds. She pours her whole heart into caring for beaten, injured racehorses and damaged children.
Jesùs is a volunteer tutor, teaching Burmese and Thai children how to read, write, and memorize their multiplication tables. He gives up his time every afternoon so that the boy with a thirst for learning who he met at the international center can someday speak English fluently.
Brian’s family tearfully said goodbye to him last month as he disappeared through the gate on his way to Afghanistan. He left his parents, his wife, and a blue-eyed, angelic baby behind to go serve his country.
Mrs. Littlefield is an ovarian cancer patient who shows up smiling to work every day, teaching English to teenagers despite the pain and the chemotherapy. Just when you would think the surgeries, bruises, needles, and fears would take their final toll and cause her to break down, she beams a fearless, joyful smile to her students and says, “God is in control.”
Jason is a military chaplain who married into a hurting family and is a Godly example to his stepdaughter. Her previous father was abusive and he gave her a second chance at having a daddy who truly loved her.
Greg and Terri are a loving couple with ten adopted children from all over the world constantly clinging to their ankles. The joyous couple loves every one of their darling babies, trusting God to help them get through and coordinate each busy day.
What do they all have in common? They are everyday American heroes. A hero does not save the world on a daily basis, per se; a hero changes the world, as Steven Curtis Chapman put it, “one little heartbeat at a time.”
A secular hero always has the trophy wife on his arm, the mansion, the perfect children, and saves the world on his breaks at work. But a hero is not someone who only does what he does for personal gain. A true American hero lives to be a role model and an example, no matter the sacrifice. A true American hero is all about lifting up the lives of other people and performing deeds that benefit them. A true American hero is selfless and serves at every chance he gets, no matter the risk or the cost it may bring upon himself. In this sense, these heroes give the world hope, and our streets today are filled with them. From the trenches and the battle lines overseas to the alleys and slums back home to the top of a burning, crumbling building, true American heroes can be found everywhere you look.
Kathy is a hero to the horses that she cares for and the young girls to whom she teaches horseback riding because they know that she loves them and cares about each of them.
Jesùs is a hero to that little Karen boy who wants so desperately to understand English because nobody ever cared enough to do that for him before.
Brian is a hero to his wife and daughter because they know that he is risking his own life to keep them safe.
Mrs. Littlefield is a hero to the students who pray for her every day because her courage gives them encouragement daily.
Jason is a hero to his daughter, who now has a strong role model to look up to.
Greg and Terri are heroes to the ten smiling faces they kiss good night every night because they gave these orphaned children a better life.
None of these heroes have ever gotten an award, or been acknowledged—other than a simple “thank you.” But if you were to ask any of them whether or not it was all worth it in the end, I know what answer you would get. These men and women of God know where their true reward is, and are content to be someone else’s hero on earth as well.
If you were to pass by Kathy, Jesùs, Brian, Mrs. Littlefield, Jason, Greg, or Terri on the street, you probably would not notice anything different about them. I highly doubt they would be wearing capes or badges, and for your own good, I would hope that they would not be wearing superhero tights. But there is someone out there right now who as been touched by the lives of these men and women, and that person’s life will not the same because of this influence. They are true, everyday American heroes and they deserve our thanks and recognition daily.