Who Is Your Hero?

Do you have a personal hero? Tell us about them. It doesn’t have to be perfect to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Your Everyday Hero: Ruby R.

Ruby is my two year old daughter. And she has given me more in her two years than anyone else has in my whole life. I was 36 years old when she was born and had pretty much given up on life ever having any purpose and meaning. I was a guy with an addiction to drugs and alcohol and an empty soul; I was living for nothing. Then Ruby came along and I found my way to being sober, and looking for God, and for a new way of life.

Ruby is teaching me patience, to love without fear, to laugh out loud, to give affection without shame, to be gentle and kind, to share and give of who I really am. She is sweet and kind, she smiles and laughs and makes me smile in return, something I had forgotten how to do. And when she sees me and gives me the tightest hugs and sloppiest kisses and cheers "Daddy! Hi Daddy!", I feel like I am the most important person in the world.

If one person can save another's life without great feats of heroism, Ruby has. I was inching into death and she reached out with her little perfect hands (ones that look just like mine) and lifted me up and away, back into life. She is my hero. And no one will ever be anything greater.

Submitted by Jeff Romanovitch