Courtesy of RevGalBlog: “Please count down five living people you admire and tell us a little something about why they make your list. These could be famous people or people you know personally.” There’s no way I can rank these people, so here’s to all of ‘em:My husband. This man is incredible. He’s a wonderful husband, a deeply loving father and he’s the smartest and most intelligent person I’ve ever met. I still wonder why he married me and what he sees in me. Thank you, Jesus, for my man.
Susan. Besides her talent as a novelist which I admire greatly, I also admire Susan most for the way she walks through the world and life—with openness, autheticity, honesty and love. She walks with her eyes wide open, taking it all in and always looking for what God is doing. Her capacity to love blows me away. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that I admire several of my other friends: Karen, whose heart is golden; Lenore, whose mind is razor sharp—not to mention she knows more people than I can count; and Lauren, who’s always inspiring me.)
Mom & Dad. The older I get and the more people I meet, the more I realize how fortunate I am to have the parents I do. Not only did they raise two children in three of the most difficult decades I can imagine (60s, 70s and 80s), but they have demonstrated faiths and walks with Jesus that both inspire and challenge me. I can only hope I will impart half as much to my children as they did to me.
Billy Graham. How this man has walked so brightly in Light with all the power and fame he’s brushed and tasted is a testimony to the Lord he follows. To this day, I am touched and moved by his words, life and conduct.
Grace Akallo. This young woman suffered things that I will almost surely never know, yet somehow her words and life are testimony to God’s power to overcome evil with his good. Grace was abducted at age 15 into Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel force which kidnaps children and uses them as soldiers, slave labor and sexual slaves in Northern Uganda. She later escaped in a harrowing battle and underwent an arduous journey through the African jungle back to civilization. You can read more and find links to stories about her here. Her testimony, steady passion and strong yet vunerable honesty are no small contributions to ending the humanitarian crisis in Northern Uganda. She is, for me, evidence of the sure hope that “Life will out.”
(Image: gathering roses by tanakawho at flickr; some rights reserved)