Who Are Our Heroes?

     

PFC Barrett Austin

     Just recently our little town of Dacusville mourned the loss of PFC Barrett Austin.  In greenvilleonline.com, "Community Mourns Soldier from Dacusville" it states that "Pfc. Barrett L. Austin, of Easley, died April 21 in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered when his vehicle was hit April 17 by an enemy improvised explosive device in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense."

     Everywhere you look in Dacusville you read, "Barrett Austin, Our Hometown Hero". This got me thinking about what is a hero, who do we call our heroes?  Barrett Austin is a hero because he so unselfishly gave his life for our country. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends"- John 15:13. 

     A soldier sacrifices his life to give us our freedom. What is it in us to be willing to sacrifice our own life for others? On a shirt that is being made to show our support for Austin it reads, "A soldier doesn't fight because he hates the enemy in front of him, he fights because he loves what he left behind". In a world that seems to be getting more and more selfish there is a thing called LOVE that is threaded through each of us. As long as we have love, we will have heroes.

     Could an ordinary person be a hero? Sure they can, I think that is what makes the best heroes. We put way too much emphasis on what qualifies someone as a hero. The definition of hero in my book is anyone that loves.
     
     Have you ever considered yourself as a hero? My daughter once told me that I was her hero. We label people all the time, and to have a label placed on you such as a hero is a high honor. I didn't do anything special to be seen as a hero in my daughter's eyes, I just love her and that makes me her hero. 
     
     The greatest hero of all time is Jesus Christ, he loved us and because of his love for us he laid down his life so that we could be saved.
   
       A hero usually doesn't consider themselves as a hero. I am sure that if you were able to ask Barrett Austin did he consider himself a hero he would respond with a no because he was just doing what he done for the people and the country he loved, but because Barrett loved he became our hero.

    Do you have to die to become a hero, of course not.  Most of us are just ordinary people living our lives.  But you could be labeled as a hero, look for someone to love today and become their hero.

     Thank you PFC Barrett Austin for the love you gave!