Every day there are dragons to slay. Whether it’s climbing your way up the corporate ladder like an executive or working three jobs waiting tables as a single mom. Slaying dragons isn’t altogether “easy” as this meme intimates, but it makes a valid point. The heroes are the ones who slay the dragons and get up the next day with the intestinal fortitude to put on their armor. THAT is not easy.

Take my Uncle Bud, for instance. He took care of his wonderful wife all through her descent into the netherworld of Alzheimer’s and did it at home. My Aunt Viv was only in the hospital a week or two before she passed. My other aunt, Uncle Bud’s sister, was living with them by this time, on her own journey into dementia. He came home from the funeral and continued to care for his sister…even when she could no long walk on her own and he carried her from room to room. A change is coming there now and he will get some much needed rest before long. He is my hero…the father that I never really had.

There is my friend, Sean. Her husband Greg came down with a virus…fever and aches. Within two days, he was airlifted and placed in ICU on a ventilator in a medically induced coma. I never found out if it was the flu…but reading Sean’s journal on Caring Bridge have me firmly convinced. She is a hero. She would be the first to tell you it is GREG that’s the hero. He’s had the hard work of healing and coming back.

There is my friend, Sharon. As an independent woman supporting herself, she worked hard her whole career and was finally forced into retirement by a pretty significant health issue. a chronic illness, surgeries, broken bones…she has done it all and still has an RV that she travels in when she can. She recently sold her house and moved into a new one with less grounds to care for. She is a hero.

There is my cousin’s daughter who struggled through several pregnancy losses and finally had a baby…a little boy with a hole in his heart. He’s doing fine…but he will have to have surgery. Keeping him healthy, keeping her six year old occupied, caring for a herd of cattle ready to calve anytime, and putting in a greenhouse all at the same time. She gets up every day and puts on her suit of armor and slays the dragons in her life.

There is a friend of mine…another flu victim with a grim prognosis. Her family stands beside her, praying and hoping and begging for healing. They are slaying dragons right and left…every minute of every day.

We are ALL dragon slayers. And whether we feel like we are heroes or not, if we get back up every day and love the world and hold up our swords…we are indeed heroes to somebody. For me personally, I let Jesus fight my battle for me…he can hold up a sword like no other!

Keep standing, mama. Keep fighting, dad. Keep working dear ones. You are so loved!

❤️

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””

Joshua 1:9 NIV