I imagine at one point in time we have all been asked "Who is your hero?". For me? It's always been my dad....hands down. Every little girl looks to her daddy as the one who hung the sun,moon AND stars and he can do NO wrong because he is too busy walking on water right after conquering the world. Heroes are important, but better yet, who IS your hero?
For a woman, when she leaves her mother and father and marries a man who has vowed to love, honor, and protect her, it is his way of signing on to be her hero, or die trying. It's the "die trying" part that really matters. A wife's greatest need is to be loved, but HOW a man shows her love can vary. Some see it in words, others in actions, and some in the way we're touched. Me??? I am a mix of ALL of those! But I have found myself picking and choosing which of those to pay attention to at times. It's funny how we can blatantly ignore some of the most obvious things when our selfish side is in the driver's seat.
I do not mean for this to be a commercial for my husband, AJ, because if you already know him, you're sold! One thing that a hero is NOT is perfect. In any great super hero movie or story, at one point the hero takes a little bit of a beating. It's the author's way of personifying the hero so that the viewer or reader can identify with him or her. Take a closer look though, when the hero gets up, their cape may be ripped, their uniform may be torn, their really cool gadgets may malfunction....but they keep fighting for their cause. That's AJ.
AJ would die trying to do ANYTHING for anyone who just so much as smiles at him. This man has been railroaded by people, myself included, in the past and he STILL remains friends with them. Now, the level of investment with that person may vary, but it really depends on how much time and effort that person puts back into him. And trust me... AJ doesn't expect much! He would single-handedly give someone the shirt off his very back if they needed it. This is a man who has swallowed his pride, given his heart, been through enough physical and emotional pain for one lifetime, and offered forgiveness time and time again to those who have hurt him. This is a man who day in and day out works with people who have been convicted of drug abuse, domestic violence, homicide, theft, animal cruelty...you name it....he's seen it. Some may get upset because he "doesn't move fast enough" or do things in the most efficient manner, but if by taking a few extra minutes with a person to offer help and maintaining even the smallest sliver of faith in their reformation when nobody else will slows him down, so be it. He deals with the people that have made the rest of us scared to leave our houses, let our kids play outside, or walk after dark....and he STILL treats them with humility. You want forgiveness lined with justice? AJ can give it. And the most amazing thing is that when he comes home, he still has a kiss and hug for each one of us.
If it's all about the "die trying" part....well, he does that too. Recently, my car had some issues with the brakes. He has fixed them in a minimal way before, but there was still more work to be done. In an effort to save money for this family trying to make it these days, he plowed through replacing ALL FOUR BRAKES on my car this weekend. This is a man who doesn't have any formal training in the mechanical workings of a vehicle....or it's stopping mechanisms!!! But, where some people would shutter back in fear and say "Oh honey, why don't you just take it down to the shop and pay a BAGILLION dollars to have them do that in 15 minutes", for some reason, I felt his determination to do it on his own. He spent all day after church yesterday outside, greasy, eaten alive by mosquitoes, sporting a headache, all in the name of the safety of his wife and kids. If I am being honest.....I never once doubted that he could do it. There was a perfect peace in me that knew, AJ would get it done and he won't rest until it is. God had his hand in all of it folks. Our neighbor poked his head in a few times to offer a hand when AJ needed it. He has worked on cars his whole life and.....also works for O'Reilly's...so $230 worth of car parts amounted to $111 for the Kales. THAT'S God people. I am NOT ashamed to say it either, YOU TUBE is AWESOME! Tonight AJ finished the other side of the car and VOILA! It could stop on a dime! After removing the rear wheel only to find that a rear cylinder had exploded and my brake fluid was in a puddle on the ground with NONE left in the car....AJ's determination paid off! To the tune of saving us $600+ in parts and labor. He could have been the lazy butt who laid on the couch and not wanted to give up his time on the weekend, and watched his wife drive away in an unsafe vehicle with his two babies in the backseat....but he didn't. He was determined to give it his best efforts and die trying.
The best part though? He won't let me test drive until he does first. He puts himself in potential harms way because according to him, "If this car won't stop I want it to be me in it and not you". Do you love someone so much that you would get into a car, not sure if it will stop or not, and take off down the road? Would you play Russian Roulette with a handgun for the person you love??? It's a little like that.
So if a hero is what I want, TWO heroes is what I got. My dad and my husband are my heroes and their capes are flapping in the wind! (NO tights please!) The greatest thing about them is that they are BOTH men after the heart of Christ. They model their sacrificial love after the hero who gave it all for them. I know fixing cars may be small beans to some, but to me, it meant everything. I have not always done everything right, I've not always told and showed AJ how much I love him, and I have definitely wronged him in ways that are beyond human reproach. But, he always comes back to me with forgiveness lined with justice, and for that, he is my hero!
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