My Heroes

Far, far from Thy glory be what mortal man can affirm of Thee, or attribute unto Thee, or the praise with which he can glorify Thee! Whatever duty Thou hast prescribed unto Thy servants of extolling to the utmost Thy majesty and glory is but a token of Thy grace unto them, that they may be enabled to ascend unto the station conferred upon their own inmost being, the station of the knowledge of their own selves.

      (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 4, 5)

As I Struggle to know my own self, I am reminded to the heroes amongst us. These are the ones that do ordinary things that make a difference to others.

Since my wife is a minister at a local church, I am often engaged in some work about the church. While I was cutting grass and doing yard work, one of the volunteers approached me. We noticed a dead skunk lying on the road in front of the house next to the church properly. “So that is why the scent of skunk had drifted into my bedroom window this morning,” I stated. “I guess we should dig a hole in the back yard and bury it,” I suggested. Right away he volunteered to do the dirty job. Later I relayed to him, “While others are driving over the skunk and complaining about the smell, a true servant of God buries the skunk.” He is one of my local heroes.

Now, although I would never liken their job to that of burying a skunk, my attention turns to our wonderful Baha'i Local Spiritual Assembly. What an excellent job they are doing at directing the affairs of our community. They have to deal with all the problems of daily living like the rest of us, yet they take the time to meet and discuss the affairs of our city. Not only are they guidance to the Baha’is of London, they are also instrumental in shaping a future world society. Although its membership is made up of individuals not unlike ourselves, when they meet there is a kind of magic. I new entity comes into being which is completely subservient unto our Creator and enacts His will. Yet their role is to provide the framework and guidance to accomplish this work. It takes an arising of individuals to carry out their plans.

From there the list of heroes blooms out and has many a flower laden branch. There is the branch of the Ruhi Class tutors. These self sacrificing individuals have busy lives and some can scarcely find time to look after their own personal needs, yet they book time off their important work, travel for miles and use their precious time to tutor a Ruhi class, often of less than five students. If only we could fill these classes with committed sincere students who desire to serve the Cause of God to the best of their abilities, we would have a more efficient use of their time.

There are so many examples of heroes among our committees and co-ordinators who keep things running smoothly, who faithfully hold reflection meetings and study sessions which are often sparsely attended, but their faith and longing to serve the Cause of God is not diminished. If one person shows up at a meeting it is deemed a success, and the work of the Faith continues. These are my Heroes who are working toward the betterment of the human race.

I cannot make mention of heroes without reference to our youth. How many meetings they have blessed us with their talents? How often they have inspired us to be better Baha’is? These young people, with all the temptations and peer pressure we faced when we were youth, are overcoming and gaining hero status at rates that are overwhelming and mind boggling. God’s will is being accomplished and He continues to raise up generations that exceed the expectations of the generations that went before it.

Our heroes are all around us. It seems I cannot look to the left or the right without seeing at least one of them. And that is only the ones I know about. I’m sure that if I took the time to get to know you and find out what you have accomplished, you too would be my hero.

http://www.sowingpeace.ca/