I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, back in the mid ’90s working on a hotel we were selling. I was sitting on the bed flipping channels on the TV. At the time, I was deeply in debt with the restaurants, and my financial life seemed to be in free fall. I was at the point where I could not see my way out.

So, here I was sitting in a hotel flipping channels, and you know how it is when you are trying to find something that will hold your interest. There was channel with this lawyer who was speaking at some business event; he happened to be a Christian. So, I would listen to him for a few seconds and flip the channel, etc. After I went back to the channel where he was speaking (about the fifth time), I decided to hear what he was saying. Thirty minutes later, I was crying sitting on the bed because it was exactly what I needed to hear at the time.

The attorney’s name was Bob Deal from Richmond, Virginia, and he was speaking to a large audience, telling a story that simply captivated my spirit. Bob Deal had a friend that was having financial issues, and the friend asked Bob to go have dinner with him and give him some advice on his situation. Remember that Bob Deal was Christian. Before the dinner meeting, Bob prayed that the Lord would give him the words he needed to speak into this man’s life. Here they were at dinner, and the friend was clearly in financial trouble and could not see a way out. Bob was still waiting for the Lord to give him the advice to share with his friend when the dinner was almost over. After the plates were taken away and they were having coffee, Bob looked at the man and said the weirdest thing. Bob said, “Tell me what your closet, dresser and garage look like.” The man looked at Bob like he had lost his mind. Finally, the man told Bob that his closet hadn’t been cleaned or organized in years, the top of his dresser was stacked with stuff, and his garage was so full he couldn’t get his car in it.

Bob Deal looked at the man and said, go home, clean your closet, your dresser, and your garage; during the process of this mental cleansing of the clutter in your life, the Lord will give you the answer to your financial situation. At this point, I was still sitting on the bed in the hotel room, and it was a though he was speaking only to me. The friend of Bob Deal did as instructed, and he developed a new path for his financial situation that worked out for him; he was able to avoid bankruptcy. I also did what Bob Deal told his friend to do, and it was as though it was spiritual therapy for me at that crossroad in life. The cleaning out of the everyday things helped me be more organized in my thoughts and greatly helped me navigate through my own financial mess back in the mid ’90s.

So, I now clean my closet several times a year, and I have one of the most organized garages in the country. Sometimes it’s the simple things that are within our control where we need to start. The first act of faith is to simply step forward, even when you don’t know exactly where you are going. Just maybe the first step or act of faith is cleaning up where you currently live. KT

If you ever wanted to see a real hero, just go to the airport and stand where the passengers come through after they land. Look for a wife, husband, children or parents that will be holding a sign that says things like “welcome home daddy,” “Welcome home son,” or “Welcome home daughter.” Then, watch as a soldier, wearing the most revered uniform on the globe, walks up to his/her family and says, “I’m home.” That’s what a real hero looks like.

If you look closely, what you will see missing is any camera man and news reporter holding a microphone that says ABC, NBC, CBS, USA-Today, etc. The reason is they don’t believe these events are newsworthy and represent subjects the readers will want to hear about.

Why am I writing about this? In the USA-Today dated February 24th, 2014, there are 5, that’s right 5, articles on the same pro athlete that announced his new lifestyle choice. This pro athlete is celebrated and heralded as an iconic hero for all to see and read about. He will be interviewed, photographed, invited to talk shows and basically told, “you are the example of an American hero.” You probably don’t want to hear what I think about this.

The soldier that got off the airplane is paid probably a notch or two above minimum wage and wasn’t drafted, rather he/she raised their hand and volunteered for duty. That same soldier left, in many cases, a young wife and young children in base housing somewhere while they were deployed for months. So, the next time you see a soldier in the airport, shake their hand and say “thank you” because they will never get the respect from the media, but they deserve it so much more.

ABC, NBC, CBS, USA-Today reporters (I am guessing) have never visited, seen or covered a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. I have, and I can tell you that there is not a more humbling experience than to look out over the acres and acres of white tombstones from all wars and all decades over the past 100 years. If you want to be humbled, and you want to see what a real hero looks like, well there it is. KT