Everyday Heroes

About a month ago a friend and I were talking about the “heroes” in our lives. Of course, we named the usual suspects – our parents and grandparents, a special teacher, someone we watched on television. But the next morning, I began to think about two other heroes of mine, Johnny Appleseed and Nancy Drew. If you are over 40, you may have found yourself thinking, “Johnny Appleseed?” and suddenly the songs starts in your head.….”The Lord is good to me and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the sun, the rain and the apple seed, The Lord is good to me.” Or you may be picturing Nancy’s blue roadster and admiring her willingness to help someone in trouble, to step into harm’s way to right a wrong, to solve a problem.

Heroes. As a child they were as real to me as you are, and I grew up know to them, admire them, and adopt their values. People who planted seeds, gave thanks, got to the root cause, and righted a wrong.

Over the Christmas holidays, Randy Hain of Bell Oaks invited my husband and I, as well as the Turknett’s (Turknett Leadership) and the Whitney’s (O.C. Tanner) to attend a fundraising dinner for the Atlanta Union Mission. Each one of those folks are JAND folks (Johnny Appleseed and Nancy Drew type people who look for the good and ways to share it). I was happy to attend. My grandparents had been active NY Union Mission leaders when I was a young girl, and I was anxious to learn more about what the Atlanta Union Mission was doing.

In my grandparent’s day, the problems of the homeless and the addicted were answered by sharing a meal, a place to sleep, and faith. Today, the Atlanta Union Mission has six campuses to support folks who need these same emergency services, and to also to support longer term recovery. I’m personally grateful to Jim Reese and his team for the life of a friend’s child. Caught up in addiction and a life on the street, she is now several years clean and sober, an honors student at a local college, studying to be a nurse. The mission reports an astounding 75% clean after 6 months “performance record”.

Folks who work with the mission don’t provide an easy path for their guests, but they do understand that clarity, consistency, and love can bring about miracles. Thanks to Randy Hain who serves on their Board of Directors and as a valued member of our community. Check them out at www.AtlantaUnionMission.org. And thanks to each of you who plant seeds and solve problems. As Johnny sings, it’s true, “The Lord is Good to Me.”

And so, to continue the conversation, who do you want to thank for planting seeds and solving problems? I’d love to hear about your heroes and what we can learn from them.