No excuses. No hiding.

It's Miss America time again and that always reminds me of one of my biggest heroes of all time: Heather Whitestone McCallum, Miss Alabama 1994 and Miss America 1995. I'm a little biased because she's a Christian, she's jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and she's from Alabama. But I think most people who saw her win the title would agree: Heather is one of the classiest, bravest, and most talented and beautiful women my state and my country have ever produced.

Deaf since age 18 months after a near-fatal bout with meningitis, Heather went on to become a model student, a state orienteering champion, and a competitive ballerina. If you watch her Miss America talent competition, you can see she could have won based on her ballet skills alone. Now add to that the fact that she was deaf and yet dancing in perfect time to the music!

How did she do it? She will gladly tell you: Jesus Christ, her mom, incremental goal-setting, and tons of hard work. She spent A YEAR learning to dance to that song.

Try to keep your eyes dry as Heather celebrates the sacrifice of Jesus Christ while earning the longest ovation in Miss America history.

> (There was a video link here but it's gone now. Sorry. Blame Donald Trump's lawyers.) <

Now, just how hard does your day look after seeing that? Yeah, mine too.

Heather says:

"Helen Keller became a role model of mine when I was in 4th grade. As most people know, she was born in my home state of Alabama and became deaf and blind at around 18 months of age. I felt like she was my sister and I began to take her words and accomplishments very seriously. She influenced me not to use my deafness as an excuse for not achieving my dreams."

Another point Heather makes that hits home with me is that she learned not to hide or minimize her disability. When she first started doing the interview portion of her paegants, she would try to act like her disability did not require any special interaction from the judges, so that she wouldn't be perceived as getting special treatment. When she lost the interview portion and the paegant, she blamed her deafness.

"My family, they watched the videotape of my interview with the judges. They said, 'No, Heather. It's not them. It's not your deafness. It's you. It's how you handled the situation with them. You made them feel unconfortable because they knew something was wrong but you were not being honest with them. You did not explain to them that you are deaf, that they need to talk slowly, and look at you directly so that you can read their lips.' And I thought more about it and my family was right.

So she took a risk:

"I went back to the paegant for a second time. There were different judges and I sat down and told the judges, 'I want you to know I'm deaf. But I read your lips, so when you talk to me, please look at me directly and talk slowly. If I still do not understand you, then write down the question on a piece of paper.' So they did. And they appreciated my honesty and we had a great time. And I won!

"So it's okay to face your problems, to say, 'Okay, I'm going to accept this problem and be honest about it.' Because sometimes this is the only way to achieve your dreams. So now I'm always honest about my deafness ... I always face my obstacles as a deaf person. But I am NEVER ashamed of it because I believe in my heart that my deafness is a blessing from God. It just gives me a different way to hear. I hear with my eyes and with my heart."

How many things are there about me - weaknesses, failures, and struggles - that I don't ask for help with, that I try to hide? And what is it costing me (and others) to keep up the charade? What have I not achieved because I don't want to appear defective?

Thank God for Heather, will you?

View that speech and other video clips here.