Do you know why comic book superheroes and action heroes are so popular? One reason is because we like to fantasize that we could have powers and fight the bad guys like Spider-Man, Captain America and even Superman (I'm not really a fan of Superman, but that is another issue). But another reason is we would like to think there could be someone out there protecting us, doing the things we only wish we could. Perhaps we kind of wish superheroes were real. In reality, I think the world could use a real superhero or two; someone like Spider-man or Captain America. Someone who would fight the evil that exists in the world, and give us hope that good does exist.I think Aunt May said it best in Spider-Man 2,
"And Lord knows, kids like Henry need a hero. Courageous, self-sacrificing people. Setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them how to hold on a second longer. I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams."
Those are pretty good lines. Now when I think about it, we have a hero like this in Jesus Christ. The only problem is He is not here physically right now. We have his example in the scriptures, and His words through modern prophets, but we do not see Him in the news fighting bad guys, you know?
I wonder what it would be like if superheroes did exist. I mean if Superman were real there would have been no 9/11, right? He could have swept in and caught the planes. Or if there were heroes like Captain America, he would have gone in and kicked some terrorist butt, right? But, then again, maybe we need tragedies like 9/11. These tragic experiences help us to grow in the end, we are strengthened through adversity and by overcoming them. I think that is why we like comic books so much, we enjoy watching these heroes overcome adversity and come out of the experiences stronger for having gone through it. It reminds us that we can do the same.
I wonder how we would treat people like superheroes in the real world. I mean, they wouldn't be able to run around in those cool costumes, would they? Would a guy in a leotard capture society's attention in the real world? Would someone in a costume really inflict fear in the hearts of bad people? I don't know.
How would people react to news stories of masked vigilantes fighting criminals, gangbangers, drug dealers, and terrorists? I wonder if in reality people would be afraid of them, hate them, or just think they were nutcases. That is how they are often viewed by the public in their fictional worlds. What do you think, how would we respond to a real world superhero? Probably arrest them. How would you respond to news of some person or organization out there fighting the bad guys like Batman or Spider-Man?
Here is something for fun: Create a real life superhero. What I mean is come up with a hero that could exist in the real world. He couldn't have real super powers like Spider-Man or Superman (Superman can barely exist in a fictional world he is so over the top poweriwse).I doubt he would swing around like Spider-Man or Batman, although I suppose he could have a cool souped up car. I suppose someone like Iron Man could exist to some extent. I doubt he could fly, but certainly a suit that offered protection and increased strength could be possible. Probably something more like War Machine, again minus the flying. So let's see what ideas you can come up with.
Also, who is your favorite super hero and why?
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
No Prayer Falls on Deaf Ears
This is something I posted on Facebook some time ago. I thought I would repost it on here now.
Three of my four children were born with a congenital condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (not sure I spelled it right), more commonly called simply CAH. Basically this means their adrenal glands do not function properly. Their bodies do not produce certain hormones needed to survive, one dealing with how your body responds to stress and the other that helps your body retain salt (which contrary to what you may have heard your, body actually needs). They are fine as long as they take their medication, steroids that do the jobs of the missing hormones. As long as they take their meds, and as long as the doctors keep their dosages correct, they are fine. But this is not what I am writing about; it is just a little background information.
Kyra, our oldest child, was the first to be born with CAH. Although we understand it better now, we had no understanding of it then, so it was a frightening experience. Let me back up and give you a little more information. When Kyra was born we were living with my parents in Anacortes, Washington. Anacortes is a beautiful little town in a beautiful area of Washington, but there is not a lot of work there. We lived there for about a year, right after Becky and I finished school. Although I enjoyed living with Mom and Dad, it was a difficult time because I was struggling to find employment and Becky's pregnancy was not an easy one. The night Kyra was born there was a freak snow storm that shut down much of the state (at the time Seattle only had four snowplows and they were all being used to try and clear nearby passes). Becky went into labor around 7 pm or so and Kyra was born around 9:30 am. It was a very long night. When Kyra was finally pulled into this world the doctor noticed almost immediately that things were not right. First of all, Kyra had double clubbed feet; it looked like her feet had been put on backwards. Second he noticed signs that her adrenal glands might not be working properly so he brought in a consulting doctor there who happened to know a lot about adrenal glands. They both decided she needed extra care, so plans were made to send Kyra to the Children's Hospital in Seattle (a place I will forever love and be grateful for), and about an hour after she was born Kyra was flown down to Seattle.
It's hard to describe how I felt then. I had barely had a chance to meet my beautiful little girl and she was being whisked away because of problems I did not understand. The doctors tried to explain things to us, but I had not slept in about 24 hours, I was worried, and so I had difficulty understanding everything they were telling us. Becky and I slept pretty much that whole day and then early the next morning, as soon as they would release us, Mom and Dad drove us down to the Children's Hospital. We spent the day with Kyra and then spent the night at the house of Becky's sister Heather (another person I will be forever grateful for).
Keep in mind this was Christmas Eve, one of the most difficult Christmas Eves I've ever spent. I spent a day listening to people try to explain my daughter's condition and help ease my fears, but it still did not help a lot. Here I was, semi-employed (I was substitute teaching at the time but not getting a lot of work), having difficulty finding full time employment, relying heavily on my parents and the government (I don't know why people complain about our healthcare system, it sure worked great for us), and here was my first born with all of these tubes and monitors attached to her being subjected to all of these different tests, and that night I had one of the most powerful spiritual struggles I have ever experienced in my life.
I was downstairs alone in Heather's house, doing some laundry I think, and all of these concerns I just mentioned just overwhelmed me. I fell to my knees in anguish and prayed to Heavenly Father for help. I felt so helpless, helpless to help my daughter, helpless to provide for my family, helpless to be the man I was supposed to be. I poured out my heart to Heavenly Father, and He heard my prayer. The immediate answer He gave was to calm my heart with some words of comfort which came from a familiar scripture but at the time felt as though were being spoken in my ear by a loving Father with invisible arms holding me. He said, "Be still and know that I am God. My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment (you can find these same words in Doctrine and Covenants 101:16 and 121:7).
I was gently chastened that night, reminded that I had wept for my own suffering, having asked why I was having trouble finding a job and why I had to suffer while my child was in the hospital. I had felt anguish and pity for myself when it was my daughter going through so much more than I was. But at the same time I was comforted and assured all would be well. I asked to have Kyra cured of CAH and to get a job the next day. That did not happen, but for the next several months Kyra was cared for by some amazing doctors (she did not have to stay in the hospital all that time, we just made frequent trips from Anacortes to Seattle), and continues to be cared for. It still took time for me to find a job, but that blessing came, as all do, after the trial of our faith. We came out to Maryland for a family reunion and ended up staying here. I got two jobs here, working for Border's Bookstore (me with a job in a bookstore, how can that not be a blessing?) and substitute teaching again, those this time I had a job pretty much every day. A year later I got a job working as a studio teacher for Promised Land on CBS and we moved to Utah for the job, and eventually we came back here to Maryland and I got a job at Magruder High School.
I look back on everything, on everything we have done and received, and I know that all of it came from Heavenly Father. Kyra is now 13 years old, beautiful and one of the joys of my life. We have a home, and I have a job I love. It didn't all happen at once, there have been other struggles, other trials, but the one thing I know is Heavenly Father continues to bless us and watch over us, even in the rough times.
There is nothing special about me. Well, that's not true, I'm "special" :-), but what I mean is there is nothing special that would set me above anyone else, nothing that would lead God to help me more than anyone else. Heavenly Father has heard each and every prayer I have ever offered to Him and has answered each prayer, to because of who I am, but because of who He is. He hasn't always answered my prayers in the way I expected (or maybe had hoped for) but they were always answered. Yours will be too, as long as you have faith and let Him answer the prayer in His way. No prayer falls on deaf ears and no prayer goes unanswered. I know this. I step down off of my soapbox.
Three of my four children were born with a congenital condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (not sure I spelled it right), more commonly called simply CAH. Basically this means their adrenal glands do not function properly. Their bodies do not produce certain hormones needed to survive, one dealing with how your body responds to stress and the other that helps your body retain salt (which contrary to what you may have heard your, body actually needs). They are fine as long as they take their medication, steroids that do the jobs of the missing hormones. As long as they take their meds, and as long as the doctors keep their dosages correct, they are fine. But this is not what I am writing about; it is just a little background information.
Kyra, our oldest child, was the first to be born with CAH. Although we understand it better now, we had no understanding of it then, so it was a frightening experience. Let me back up and give you a little more information. When Kyra was born we were living with my parents in Anacortes, Washington. Anacortes is a beautiful little town in a beautiful area of Washington, but there is not a lot of work there. We lived there for about a year, right after Becky and I finished school. Although I enjoyed living with Mom and Dad, it was a difficult time because I was struggling to find employment and Becky's pregnancy was not an easy one. The night Kyra was born there was a freak snow storm that shut down much of the state (at the time Seattle only had four snowplows and they were all being used to try and clear nearby passes). Becky went into labor around 7 pm or so and Kyra was born around 9:30 am. It was a very long night. When Kyra was finally pulled into this world the doctor noticed almost immediately that things were not right. First of all, Kyra had double clubbed feet; it looked like her feet had been put on backwards. Second he noticed signs that her adrenal glands might not be working properly so he brought in a consulting doctor there who happened to know a lot about adrenal glands. They both decided she needed extra care, so plans were made to send Kyra to the Children's Hospital in Seattle (a place I will forever love and be grateful for), and about an hour after she was born Kyra was flown down to Seattle.
It's hard to describe how I felt then. I had barely had a chance to meet my beautiful little girl and she was being whisked away because of problems I did not understand. The doctors tried to explain things to us, but I had not slept in about 24 hours, I was worried, and so I had difficulty understanding everything they were telling us. Becky and I slept pretty much that whole day and then early the next morning, as soon as they would release us, Mom and Dad drove us down to the Children's Hospital. We spent the day with Kyra and then spent the night at the house of Becky's sister Heather (another person I will be forever grateful for).
Keep in mind this was Christmas Eve, one of the most difficult Christmas Eves I've ever spent. I spent a day listening to people try to explain my daughter's condition and help ease my fears, but it still did not help a lot. Here I was, semi-employed (I was substitute teaching at the time but not getting a lot of work), having difficulty finding full time employment, relying heavily on my parents and the government (I don't know why people complain about our healthcare system, it sure worked great for us), and here was my first born with all of these tubes and monitors attached to her being subjected to all of these different tests, and that night I had one of the most powerful spiritual struggles I have ever experienced in my life.
I was downstairs alone in Heather's house, doing some laundry I think, and all of these concerns I just mentioned just overwhelmed me. I fell to my knees in anguish and prayed to Heavenly Father for help. I felt so helpless, helpless to help my daughter, helpless to provide for my family, helpless to be the man I was supposed to be. I poured out my heart to Heavenly Father, and He heard my prayer. The immediate answer He gave was to calm my heart with some words of comfort which came from a familiar scripture but at the time felt as though were being spoken in my ear by a loving Father with invisible arms holding me. He said, "Be still and know that I am God. My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment (you can find these same words in Doctrine and Covenants 101:16 and 121:7).
I was gently chastened that night, reminded that I had wept for my own suffering, having asked why I was having trouble finding a job and why I had to suffer while my child was in the hospital. I had felt anguish and pity for myself when it was my daughter going through so much more than I was. But at the same time I was comforted and assured all would be well. I asked to have Kyra cured of CAH and to get a job the next day. That did not happen, but for the next several months Kyra was cared for by some amazing doctors (she did not have to stay in the hospital all that time, we just made frequent trips from Anacortes to Seattle), and continues to be cared for. It still took time for me to find a job, but that blessing came, as all do, after the trial of our faith. We came out to Maryland for a family reunion and ended up staying here. I got two jobs here, working for Border's Bookstore (me with a job in a bookstore, how can that not be a blessing?) and substitute teaching again, those this time I had a job pretty much every day. A year later I got a job working as a studio teacher for Promised Land on CBS and we moved to Utah for the job, and eventually we came back here to Maryland and I got a job at Magruder High School.
I look back on everything, on everything we have done and received, and I know that all of it came from Heavenly Father. Kyra is now 13 years old, beautiful and one of the joys of my life. We have a home, and I have a job I love. It didn't all happen at once, there have been other struggles, other trials, but the one thing I know is Heavenly Father continues to bless us and watch over us, even in the rough times.
There is nothing special about me. Well, that's not true, I'm "special" :-), but what I mean is there is nothing special that would set me above anyone else, nothing that would lead God to help me more than anyone else. Heavenly Father has heard each and every prayer I have ever offered to Him and has answered each prayer, to because of who I am, but because of who He is. He hasn't always answered my prayers in the way I expected (or maybe had hoped for) but they were always answered. Yours will be too, as long as you have faith and let Him answer the prayer in His way. No prayer falls on deaf ears and no prayer goes unanswered. I know this. I step down off of my soapbox.
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