Everybody loves heroes and everybody has heroes. The heroes of our imagination wear capes and have powers beyond human ability and can change the course of humanity with their superpowers. The box offices at movie theaters are overrun with super men and wonderful women. These are the heroes of our youth and our dreams.
There are also those daily heroes. These are our moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas. These are the unsung heroes who raise us and guide us and make sure we always know we belong. These are the heroes who would put themselves in harm’s way to keep us from being hurt physically or emotionally. These are the heroes that tucked us in at night and under whose watch we slept knowing we would be okay.
Then there are those heroes who go about their daily life, making decisions and taking actions we will never know about. These are the heroes who walk towards the noise rather than away. These are the heroes who would put themselves between us and harm even though they do not know who we are. These are the men and women who volunteer for the responsibility and accountability of the superhero but they get none of the glory. These are the men and women who make sure we are safe and make sure we have liberties beyond what this world has ever experienced yet they provide these liberties outside of glory. These are the men and women who first respond to injury, accident, and danger. These are the men and women who go headlong into battles, both physical and existential, so that we can wake and sleep under the soft comfort of liberty and freedom.
Every day we see these heroes. It is time they know they are seen. One of the values we teach our students at BCS is that Christ is our ultimate hero because he purposefully gave His life so that we might live. He also said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for another.” This means that we also teach that the men and women who wear the uniform of our armed services are true heroes because they stand between us and danger and have volunteered to place their life on the line so that we may live. Our active service men and women and our veterans are true heroes that deserve a “thank you” and our unyielding respect. They deserve to have their coffee bought when we see them in line waiting to pay. They deserve a moment of your time when you take the time to say thank you. They deserve to be respected for their willingness to defend us and they deserve this respect publicly and privately.
First responders, those that run to danger as we flee deserve our respect. Those men and women who enforce our laws that provide our freedoms and those who get to the scene of an accident first and those who care for and comfort those who are hurt while putting themselves in between us and danger deserve respect. Our children need to know that we respect and honor these men and women and they will learn this respect through our deeds and our words.
We live in the greatest nation this world has ever known. We have conveniences never before seen, we have opportunities to make choices that form the direction of our lives, and we have freedom that many around the world risk everything to experience. Our liberties and our freedom are not free and they are not cheap. They are paid for by the blood, time, and willingness of those real heroes who stand prepared to give their all so that we may continue to experience freedom and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This week we honor our men and women who have served and continue to serve. A small token of thanks is a free meal and entrance to our football game this Friday. A small token of thanks is the police lounge that is about to open in the CSA where policemen and women can come and rest and enjoy refreshments while they do their paperwork. A small token of thanks is our honoring these men and women as our honorary captains and special guests this Friday. The true thanks comes when each and every one of us bow our heads and thanks God for these incredible men and women who make us their priority and do so outside the light of glory.
My prayer is that every member of the BCS community spends time in prayer today for our military, current and past, and our first responders.
May God bless our military. May God bless our first responders. May God bless His school.
It is a great day to be a Bear!
Blessings,
Jay Burcham
President