My HERO!

I decided to concentrate yesterday, on the half a dozen or so boxes that were stacked in my room.  It was a pretty painless job as all of the boxes except for one, were filled with my stuff.  It turned out to be mainly clothes, a box of ties, shoes, hangers and some personal care items.  The only odd-ball in the stack was a box packed to overflowing with children’s Christian music/musicals cassettes and their accompanying story books.  I never realized how many we had accumulated over the years.  Some were for musicals we had done with our students in the various churches in which we served, but the majority were for our own kids (and Piper’s and my) personal enjoyment.  Our kids still repeat some of the funny lines from these musicals!

Having musical parents… and especially a Mom who homeschooled them, and loved to play the piano (flute, piccolo and a little guitar), teach the kids to master the piano keyboard, sing and silly dance with them and put on impromptu performances during school hours in order to emphasize a point, our kids didn’t have much of a chance at not being musically inclined!  Add to the mix that much of our ministry at the churches involved singing, plays, drama productions, youth bands, puppet skits, comic relief and just a whole lot of fun… our kids had a convenient stage in which to perform and hone their talents and giftings for life!

And speaking of a homeschooling Mom, after finishing in the bedroom, I went back to the temporary storage area in the guest room to see if I could find anymore boxes of stuff that belongs in the master bedroom.  One of the first things I spotted was a light blue sleeveless women’s T-shirt of Piper’s laying on top of a box labeled “Homeschool.”  Without thinking I immediately brought the shirt up close to my face and was a little shocked that I could actually still smell some of Piper’s perfume residing in the fabric!  It was a wonderful experience but quickly sent me over the edge in missing her!

Once I got ahold of my emotions again, I cut open the box and began to dig through its contents.  It was full of all kinds of Piper’s office supplies, consisting of writing utensils, watercolors (which I can use for with my granddaughter), card stock, various stickers that she would put on the kid’s projects after she graded them, a stapler and so on and so forth.  Toward the bottom was a small stack of folders with projects that the kids completed over the years.  Under that was about a 2+ inch thick file folder filled with some of the quarterly and detailed end-of-the-year reports that Piper had to compile and turn in as part of the requirements for the Independent Study Program at the Santa Rosa Christian School that we belonged to.

I had forgotten all the record-keeping and paperwork that she had to complete for each of our four kids as a part of the homeschooling process.  Piper was terrific at most things… but she did have a habit of waiting until the last moment to complete certain details when it came to her school reports, sewing costumes for church productions or completing projects for the yearly ISP Arts and Crafts Fair. 

She never really grasped an understanding of how a computer worked – as our generation never used them in school, so I needed to set her up and stay handy in case she ran into a problem. (I became proficient during my early days at Hewlett Packard)  She could type around 70 words a minute and could fly through the reports once the computer files were set up, the correct forms were created and the margins established.  So, all those last minute, deep dives into the night were normally a family effort which we laughed about… at a much later date!

But I always enjoyed helping her.  It gave me a good sense that I was contributing to the homeschooling effort and helped me to feel a little like Piper’s HERO in her time of need.  I recently realized how big that desire to be Piper’s HERO was engrained into psyche.  I had lots of positive examples of the husband helping out their wives whenever the need arose. 

My Dad, my Grandfather and My Uncle were all loving husbands who excelled in caring for their wives.  But in today’s modern society, chivalry is not practiced… nor expected, like it used to be.  One of the hard lessons I had my eyes opened up to in caring for Piper’s physical needs for the last eight years of her life, was that not all husbands would automatically do what I did without any differing thoughts at all.  There never was ANY question about it.  I fully expected to do it and so did she!  If the roles were reversed, I am without doubt that she would have done the exact same things for me.  She was always very protective of our relationship and would do anything for me whenever the need arose… and she knew that I would always do the same for her.

One of the things I miss the most today, with her absence, is that unique, cute little smile that she would give me after I would do something special for her.  After all those years together, it’s now very difficult for me to go without those daily reassurances.  I'm finding that I enjoy movies that end with the HERO successfully saving his damsel in distress!

And the other day, I came across a scripture verse that explained my long-held desire to be my Piper’s HERO.  It seems that I was just trying to emulate my heavenly Father.  In Psalm 91:15, our Father God speaks to us and tells us that, “I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will find and feel my presence even in your time of pressure and trouble. I will be your glorious HERO and give you a feast.” (The Passion Translation)

So you see, it is something that I believe God has engrained into me, as well into every Christian Believer!  He wants us to be like Him and be a HERO to those in need around us.  I made a quick trip to the nearby Casey’s Country Store (gas station/ min-mart and Pizza restaurant) early before church yesterday morning to pick up a few needed essentials. 

While the gal was checking me out, I asked her how it was to be working with all the Covid-19 stuff going around, and without a second thought, she said that its actually terrible as many of the customers have been so mean!  So, I took the opportunity to offer an apology for them, encourage her and gave her a good laugh! (When I pulled out my wallet, one of Fiver’s poop bags that I always carry with me, fell on the floor, so I made a big joke about it and how I never leave home without one!).  I kinda walked out of that store with a smile and a slight swagger, thinking that I might have just been her HERO!

What’s my point?  We are to be living breathing examples of our heavenly Father to our world where we live.  In my limited travels right now, I am seeing a lot of unhappy looking people out there.  So, I encourage you to be a HERO today and give someone in need a big smile, a friendly hello, a wave or an encouraging word (from 6’ away of course!)  You might not be riding a big white horse… but your love toward them will be greatly appreciated… especially with all the fear that’s being put out right now!  So, go ahead and say with me… “I am expecting to be somebody's HERO today!”