Sunday, December 22, 2002
A loving grandfather, a caring minister, an Eastern guru, a Methodist missionary and a compassionate neighbor:
These are some of the spiritual heroes whom readers are thankful for.
Recently I asked: Who is your spiritual hero? Who is the person who's made a difference in your life, set a tone or direction for how you live -- or try to live?
Most of us fail to take the time to think about our heroes and express our thanks. So, in this season of thankfulness, I hope you'll take a few minutes to reflect on such a person and then share your gratitude, if possible, with that person.
Here are five who are grateful along with their spiritual heroes.
*When Bob Barber of Wichita, Kan., was a youngster, he would spend summers at his grandfather's farm in Indiana.
"Those were special times for me that influenced my life so completely," the 79-year-old retired graphic artist said of his grandfather Charles Alford Beard.
The two of them would take walks through the woods and talk. "He taught me spiritual things and to have a fundamental belief in God."
And Barber learned the lesson of thankfulness "for the small and large things that would come my way."
Someone to emulate
Barber remembers his grandfather, who died in 1947, as loving and honest, a man who never said anything negative or uttered a profanity. He's tried to pattern his life after him.
"I used to pretend my grandfather was always with me, wherever I went. No matter what I did or thought about, I would ask myself: 'What would Granddad do?' There has been no other person like my hero in all my life."
UNeal Castens of Wichita says his spiritual hero is his father, the Rev. Louis Castens, who lives in Acworth, Ga.
For 45 years, the Lutheran pastor served churches (none larger than 300 members) in rural and small towns throughout the Midwest. He never made more than $900 a month. In 1984, he retired; next spring he will be 90.
Castens said his father is his hero "because of his faith, his warmth, his caring attitude, his rock-solid doctrine, his service to his flock wherever he was.
"His Christian service continues even in his last years at the nursing home, the senior center, the church office, the food bank.
"He is my hero of faith because of his example to me of Christ alive on Earth today. I can only pray that I am half as good an example."
UMari Laxmi von Hoffmann of Philipsburg, Mont., says Paramahamsa Yogananda, founder of the Hindu Self-Realization Fellowship, is her spiritual hero.
"Through his teachings and writings, I have learned why I am here and where I am going; also, what I can do along the way to be happy and to help others be the same."
ULola Mae Hershberger of Wichita said she and her husband, Lloyd, met E. Stanley Jones in 1968 and again in 1970 while he was visiting Kansas.
Ashrams
Jones, a Methodist missionary to India, founded Christian ashrams -- retreat centers for study and meditation. A prolific author, Jones also started roundtable conferences at which people would gather to discuss various beliefs and the message of Christ. He died in 1973.
By attending the ashrams in Kansas, Hershberger said, her and Lloyd's spiritual lives blossomed and flourished in a new way. They continue to attend retreats each year.
"Jesus is the center of our lives," she wrote, "and E. Stanley Jones was the one who presented Jesus to us in such a beautiful way."
ULilyan Smith of Wichita includes Phil Jensen in her list of heroes.
Jensen was a neighbor who knocked on Smith's door after he saw Smith's husband, Jerry, in church by himself. Smith said her husband had begun attending a community church the last year of his life.
After Smith's husband no longer could attend church because of his illness, Jensen would visit the Smiths in their home and at the hospital.
"Phil, with his relaxed and attentive manner, supported both of us," she said. "He was a friend. His interest in our lives was never intrusive."
She said she was moved by his patience and concern "as I expressed my anxiety and fear with incessant talking." When she asked why he bothered, he simply said: "I'm a Christian."
"He's my spiritual hero."
XTom Schaefer writes about religion and ethics for the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle.