Daily Transfusions – August 19, 2001
We’ve heard it said that “no man is an island.” Yet sometimes we don’t think about what’s implied in the statement. We really do need each other.
After a terrible automobile accident, a woman received three pints of blood. During the weeks of recovery, she was filled with gratitude for the strangers who had saved her life. She longed to thank the donors, and thought of the irony that one day she might pass by one of them, and not even know this person had saved her life.
As she returned to her normal routine, thoughts of her benefactors came to her less often. Then one day, while trying to cope with a major disappointment, a friend who didn’t know what she was dealing with stopped by. The visit was short. The friend hugged her, expressed her love, and left. In those few moments, the woman received a transfusion of light and warmth that was as miraculous as the blood transfusion after her accident.
She realized that almost everything good about her had been obtained by “transfusion.” Her family had “transfused” her with love. Teachers had “transfused” her with knowledge. Complete strangers had done things that lifted her, encouraged her, and gave her hope. With heartfelt gratitude, she realized that she owed her existence to these people just as much as she did to the blood donors.
Every day we come in contact with other people. Whether we realize it or not, we influence one another greatly. We receive emotional, intellectual, and spiritual transfusions. But it’s more important to realize that daily we can transfuse those around us. We can lift and encourage others with a smile, a kind word, or a hug. In many simple, yet meaningful ways, we can be life donors.
Program #3757