Self Sacrifice
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13
A few months ago, a prayer request was sent from our church in South Bay. A 19-year-old girl named Brandy, who attends the church there, was suffering from cystic fibrosis and was told she didn’t have much longer to live unless she got a transplant.
Our high school principal, Laura, heard about this need and began praying for Brandy to find a donor. Somewhere along the way, Laura heard the Lord saying to her “what about you?”. In obedience, she submitted an application to be a possible donor. As months past, her name slowly began climbing the list of possible candidates. Recently, she learned that she was a positive match and she went in for surgery last week to donate one of the lobes in her lungs.
The transplant was a success and Brandy is breathing much better now and is going to be fine! How amazing, and how great a sacrifice on Laura’s part, especially for someone she didn’t even know. What’s even more extraordinary is that even from her hospital bed, Laura calls into the church from time to time to check on how things are going on at the school.
What a sweet reality check. Today’s been kinda rough for me. Lots of unexpected things popped up adding to my already heavy load. My head is throbbing, and I’ve gone into leave-me-alone-I’m-busy mode. But hey, at least I’m fully intact. What a great reminder to just chill out and not get so caught up in the worries of the day.
Anyway, this whole thing came to mind because I noticed a get well card for Laura in the copy room as I was getting a drink of water. I’m thankful that despite my tendency toward tunnel vision, the Lord has kept my eyes open enough to catch his subtle hints, reminding me that He’s called us all to a life of self-sacrifice.