The Thirteenth Annual Inspirations List: 2019

What does it mean to be a hero?  "Don't be a hero," you'll hear it said to someone about to embark on a risky endeavor.  What do we  by mean that?  Don't show off, don't do something foolish to make a big impression.  But think about it (that phrase by the way, "Think about it" is one that the youngest hero on this year's list says all the time when he's making a point. It's good advice.  Think about it.  But I digress.)  Have you ever noticed that the people we actually call heroes never do those kinds of things?  Invariably that heroic individual will dismiss their exploits. "I'm no hero", they say. " I was just doing my job."  I'm pretty sure that's what everyone on this year's list would say.  I've come to realize that what defines a hero is not what heroes think of themselves, but how they impact the lives of others. Of course they weren't trying to be heroes. They are simply living their lives and the kind of lives they live touch us and inspire us.  None of the people on this year's list have rushed into a burning building to save anyone (as far as I know).  But here's the thing about each one of them. They are the kind of people who would.

There is an interesting symmetry to this list at end of this decade and the one I posted ten years ago. I ended this last decade with Dr. John Carlos as my hero: his wife bookends this decade.  And in 2009 one hero was barely a year old.  This year he returns to the list, inspiring me still. This year's heroes range in age from 11 years old to north of 80. They are two women and five men (yes, two are arguably boys, but to me they are more men than many with more years).  Two of my heroes are widely known; my accolades are just a drop in the bucket of praise they have received. But none sought the hero's mantle.  All earned my respect by the quiet life choices they made day in and day out.  Choices that changed the world and changed me.

Here are my heroes for the year 2019:

Sam Ulett
Christian Stepney
Roy Rutter
Tara Westover
Grace Carlos
Elijah Maycock
Fred Rogers


Sam Ulett
I am inspired by his messages

His sermons have changed my life. I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon any day, or so they say.  And Pastor Ulett does inspire me by the sermons he lives through his humility, gentleness, kindness, and Christ-like spirit.  But it just so happens that his actual sermons have been pretty life-changing as well. I can think of  only three sermons that changed the way I live my life and two of them were preached by Pastor Ulett.  He probably didn't realize the impact his message had on me; I'm sure they were messages he'd delivered before and will surely deliver again.  But I will never forget them. It wasn't the oratorical theatrics, it wasn't the clever assembly of ideas. No, it was simple truth delivered with the gentle power of the Holy Spirit that convicted me to approach life a little differently than I had before.


Christian Stepney
I am inspired by his commitment to growth

Good, better, best. You know the saying.  He never let it rest, until his good was better and his better best. I can honestly say that I have never met a young man so committed to personal improvement as Christian.  At the beginning of his eighth grade school year he purposed in his heart to make a change with God's help.  He'd always been a good kid, but for Christian good wasn't good enough.  He wanted to raise his grades, lead his classmates, set a higher bar for himself. He ran for 8th grade class president and won, leading the class well throughout the year. He earned the best grades of his life, went from a middling academic performer to one of the top students in his class.  He wasn't perfect. He made mistakes.  Like all real growth, there were missteps and setbacks along the way but he never wavered in his commitment to do better.  And from what I hear, as a freshman at Pine Forge Academy this year, he's not finished yet.  He's better than ever by all accounts,  but he is still on a quest for best.



Roy Rutter
I am inspired by his helpfulness

Love thy neighbor is more than a scripture for Roy. It's a way of life.  From virtually the day we moved in, Roy has been the exemplar of what it means to be a good neighbor.  Technically, he's not our neighbor.  He lives several streets over in our neighborhood, but he might as well live next door.  He's always available to lend a ladder, a fertilizer spreader, a helping hand and a word of wise counsel.  His assistance and advice have been invaluable to me as a new homeowner. His years of accumulated knowledge have saved me headaches and money on countless occasions. He is a man who loves the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength and mind, and he shows that love by the way he treats people--with compassion and generosity.  Though our political views and our Christian faith traditions couldn't be more different, Roy has never let that stand in the way of Jesus' simple command to love one another. He sees in me a fellow brother in Christ and he loves me as he loves himself.


Tara Westover
I am inspired by her journey

Hers was the ultimate jailbreak. It was not Tara Westover's escape from years of oppression and abuse at the hands of family members.  It was not her miraculous survival of multiple injuries without the benefit of medical treatment. It was not her entering a classroom for the first time in her life as a seventeen year old college student and ten years later holding a PhD from Cambridge University.  While all of these accomplishments, detailed in her stunning memoir Educated, are amazing in themselves, what truly  inspired me was Westover's mental journey. Dr. Westover's journey to knowing and trusting her own mind; her heart-stopping odyssey to define herself instead of being defined by those she loved; her departure from fear and her journey to "emancipation from mental slavery"--all of this has challenged me to do the same in my own life.  To not only reject the fears I've carried from my earliest years, but to actually put those fears down and live free.


Grace Carlos
I am inspired by her gracious spirit

It seemed a little too on the nose.  But try as I might I couldn't come up with another word to describe Grace Carlos that wasn't her name.  Grace.  I never call her that, of course.  To me she'll always be Mrs. Carlos.  After all she's my best friend's mom and I've known her as long as I've known him--since I was a fifteen year old high school freshman. In all that time I've been impressed by her gracious hospitality, her grace-filled kindness and warmth, and her deep knowledge and reflection of the grace of Jesus.  Mrs. Carlos is a lover of life, a lover of people, and a lover of God. It seems like wherever she and Dr. Carlos go, it isn't long before they are in the very center of their church family, serving others and extending grace to whomever they encounter.  I always feel at home whenever I visit the Carlos's (starting with weekends in high school, and most recently, last year when they hosted our family when we are at Andrews University for alumni weekend).  Her generous laugh, that sparkle in her eye when she smiles, the fervency with which she prays (not to mention those delicious home-cooked meals) have ministered to me for over three decades now.  Thanks, Mrs. Carlos, for living up to your name. You have blessed me, and countless others, immensely and only in eternity will we know the full reach of the grace of your Creator, extended through you.


Elijah Maycock
I am inspired by his courage

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to be yourself.  My son has exemplified this bravery time and again over the ll years of his life so far.  Because he is a "brony"--a boy who likes the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic TV series--he has endured his fair share of teasing through the years from kids (and sometimes even adults). There were times when I quietly wished, for his own sake, he'd hide his fandom from those outside the family  ("Do we really have to get the MLP backpack?").  But Elijah has always been determined to be who he is without apology and let the chips fall where they may.  Eventually he earned the respect of his classmates who, for the most part, now simply accept him as he is. In so many ways both big and small, Elijah has shown the courage of his convictions  and a determination to live a truthful life, even when he feels scared. He inspires me to do the same.

One of the great struggles of sons is to know they have the approval of their fathers, and I know Elijah often wonders how I feel about him when it seems I'm always reprimanding, reminding, pushing, stressed by the demands of parenting.  Elijah, I want you to know I see you, I love you, I like you, I respect you. You are my hero.


Fred Rogers
I am inspired by his example

Take a minute to think of the people who have cared about you along the way.  This was something that Fred Rogers, known the world over as Mr. Rogers host of the children's television show that bears his name, liked to have people do when he gave commencement addresses and other public speeches (here's one example, from his 2002 commencement address at Dartmouth; skip to the 10:50  mark if you like). Mr. Rogers has been a household name for a couple of generations, and though he passed away back in 2003 a recent documentary, a podcast, and a movie just released last month, among other cultural nods, have brought his legacy back to the forefront.  I watched his show occasionally as a child--my favorite part was always the visits to the Land of Make Believe, but his biggest impact on me was as an adult.  I read the powerful Tom Junod Esquire magazine article a few years ago and was inspired by one man's honest quest to speak to children truthfully with love, kindness, and total acceptance. If you haven't read that article, do it. It is worth the time.  This year I've had the opportunity  to reflect once again Rogers' example of what it means to be a true hero--someone who makes a difference through love, respect, acceptance, and honest appreciation of our own feelings and those of others.

 Anyway, at the end of the recent documentary on Mr. Rogers, viewers were invited to do take a minute to think of the people who have cared about us along the way and let me tell you it got real dusty in that theater as I thought of my mother, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, friends, my wife and many others who have blessed my life along the way. (Maybe this annual Heroes blog is my way of annually practicing that minute of appreciation).  And now that I think about it, Fred Rogers is one of those people I'd picture.  Though he never new me personally, he cared about me because he cared about everyone.