Heroes

I have more heroes now than I've ever had before.
I'm not referring to all the missionaries I admire from reading their biographies or all the heroic leaders I've seen black-and-white photos of in history books.
I'm talking about people who I know personally and who have influenced me eternally, more than I probably even realize now.
When I think of these people and how much I want to be like them, I can't describe their character with words. A friend and I used to have endless discussions over what it was that made these people so outstanding, so elevated in our eyes. In one of those "duh!" moments, we both realized, of course, that what we admired so much wasn't our heroes themselves at all. It was Christ in them.
So I end up praying something like, "Dear God, please conform me to the image of your Son by instilling in me this character quality I see in Mrs. So-and-so."
Because I really can't describe it other than by citing the person who lives that quality out before me.