SOMEBODY'S HERO

SOMEBODY'S HERO

So, I’m sitting here trying to come up with some creamy words for you guys to savor when I realize that I haven’t much time, no much time at all! My family is nigh unto ready for our grand departure to the wild and wonderful world of Lynnhaven Mall. Along with Christmas cheer I’ll be carrying a can of pepper spray, a .38 snub-nose and keen eye for evil doers. You may be thinking, “how paranoid can you get.” It’s really not about fear at all. It’s about obligation.

You see, ten years of walking in my calling as a cop led me to realize that it really is a calling. Obviously, I want to protect my family on trips like this, but it’s more than that. The Lord seems to have wired me with a justice chip that goes crazy when bad guys get away with being bad.

I’m not looking for trouble mind you! But if it finds me I’ll be ready for the dance.

It’s really a strange thing you know.

For instance, several years ago I was walking out of Walmart to get my wallet when I noticed an employee with a walkie-talkie speaking to guy on the far side of those annoying shoplifting sensors. I knew what was happening. But, I thought, “ Praise God, I’m not a cop anymore!” (The biggest fight of my police career was over a pack of steaks)

On the way back into Walmart the “suspect” broke free and darted right past me. I tried to use reason but something went off in my head like a flashpot at a Kiss concert. I tried to control the urge to give chase but then the guy ran into a grocery cart and lost speed. I thought, “What an idiot”, then I was off, no weapon, no badge, no arrest powers, just this blast of justice juice and 190 pounds of pure preachin’ fury.

The Walmart cart guy closed in from one direction and I from the other. Boom! We hammered him!

Man, I love the behind the back, arm bar, double slam asphalt munch.

Next thing you know I’m laying on top of the guy with his arm in what we called a “chicken wing” hold. Now I’m thinking, “What in the heck are you doing Pastor Mark?”

So I prayed for him.

After the crowd had gathered and I had soaked up some glory, the cops came and hauled off the drunken thief. It was then that I realized something:

Most heroes in life don’t create the opportunities that make them heroes; they simply walk in their calling and seize the day if it arrives.

Last night I watched Cinderella Man; a classic case in point based on a true story.

Fighter, James J. Braddock knew he was supposed to fight and he walked in that calling. The Great Depression robbed him of his predicted future as the next Heavy Weight Champion of the World.

Time took it’s toll and left Braddock broke and washed up as a boxer. After fracturing his powerful right hand in a pitiful performance, his license to fight professionally was revoked. Through it all Jimmy Braddock stayed true to his most important priority—that of being a provider to his wife and kids.

Everyday the determined Dad would go to the docks along with a hundred other men and stand at the gates in hopes of being chosen to work. After disguising his broken hand he was able to secure a heavy labor job that helped his family survive.

During this desperate season in American history, many families were torn apart by poverty, suicide and alcoholism. But Braddock held fast to his priorities and in the end that choice paved the way for his eventual success.

During his time on the docks his left had had grown much more powerful. When his old promoter showed up and asked him to enter the ring one last time for a fight against a far younger and larger opponent, Jimmy obliged. The fight was purely a promotion for the new boxer whose originally scheduled opponent was a no-show. Jimmy Braddock saw it as a chance to make enough money to feed his family. The rest is history.

Jimmy Braddock became a great American hero in a time when the common man needed hope. The papers dubbed him the Cinderella Man because he had risen from the pit of despair to the peak of prosperity when the odds were slim. People needed that message.

People still need heroes.

I believe most of us want to be a hero, anybody’s hero. A few of us try to be everybody’s hero. In reality, I don’t think we can manufacture the moments that really make people heroes. What we can do, is be faithful to the callings and obligations that God has given us, and in the midst of that faithfulness we may one day be given the chance to be..... somebody’s hero.


WARNING:
Cinderella Man is rated PG-13 for scenes of boxing violence, language isn’t mentioned on the cover. However, the movie does features a very foul mouthed promoter. I’m sure Ron Howard & Russell Crowe were only trying to be true to the story. Nevertheless, I could have done without the profanity. View at your own risk.