It's Not All About Powers

Not all heroes wear capes, some wear a suit of determination, others wear a mask of a helper, and the best ones have the super strength to resist the naysayers of the world. These heroes can't swing from buildings and have no magic hammer. They DO have a strong faith in God and a generous attitude. These heroes are the ones who trust God when you can't see through the darkness. These heroes are the ones who live to serve others. These heroes are persistent and don't back down. To qualify as a hero in my eyes, you must be relentless when the fight is hard and to stand your ground when discouragement comes.  

Being relentless is more than fighting through pain, it's pursuing when you can’t see the end. When I think of the word relentless, I think of Ronald Connaughton, my grandfather. No, he wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider, but he was in fact “ bitten” by many illnesses. He suffered from various lung diseases and heart problems.  Superman may have had a big “S” on his chest, but my grandfather always had a smile on his face. He always fought through the tough battles. He had super strength during these times to still woodwork in his cellar. When various diseases came his way, he would stand his ground. He never had a strong faith in God, but he told us he saw Jesus waving him goodbye on the cross a week before he passed away in early December. They say every hero has a weakness, but my grandfather had none. Another example of persistence in the face of struggles is Walt Disney. Before he was the King of Disney he was the animator of Laugh-O-Gram. The company went bankrupt-- but he didn’t stop there. He pushed forward for a few years and made the “happiest place on earth.” Similarly, Steve Jobs didn’t stop at getting fired from his own company. He created Pixar studios and he got rehired to CEO of Apple. If he would’ve stopped we wouldn’t be where we are today. All of these men are prime examples of why those who are relentless make it through tough times.

The last qualification of being a hero is having a superpower. This superpower is the ability to stand your ground when discouragement comes. Martin Luther King Jr. stood his ground at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial and told people what his dream was. Thousands of people discouraged the poor preacher, but he wouldn’t let that distract him. If Dr. King let these naysayers get to him, we would’ve been a fallen nation, possibly never fully achieving the reality of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all races.  Another example is the Wright Brothers; these brothers had an idea. People told them it wouldn’t work, but that didn’t stop the bicycle shop owners. They failed many times and could’ve stopped. “One More Try,” became their favorite words. Because of their steadfast mindset, they built and flew the first plane in the world.  Albert Einstein, the world’s greatest scientist, had dyslexia and couldn't speak until he was nine years old. His teachers told him he wouldn't become anything important. This didn’t stop Einstein from becoming one of the greatest minds in the world, developing the theory of relativity and quantum theory of light. People who can tune out discouragement have the real superpowers.

Each of these qualities are the powers that matter. If you are relentless, there's no need for super strength, if anyone can block out discouragement, you don’t need super hearing. A hero is not someone who can swing from buildings in comic books. Heroes are the ones who care for you. They're not in a comic book, though, they are in your life. All of these qualities make up my heroes, what qualities do your heroes have?