A dear friend of mine had a birthday a couple days ago, but she didn’t celebrate it in the traditional way, with a party, cake and candles. Gifts were given, but she was the giver, not the receiver.
Deanna is a nurse who on her birthday, she was assigned to work in the ER COVID wing. So, instead of getting showered with gifts, Deanna gave herself away, providing comfort and support to a family whose mother was dying of COVID.
This was an especially difficult case for Deanna, because she lost her own father to respiratory failure not long ago. Watching her patient struggle for air, brought back painful memories of Deanna’s own father in his last days, but it also helped her relate to what her patient’s family was going through. Sharing her own experience with the family helped them make the difficult decision to switch their mother from treatment to comfort care, which allowed the medical staff to make her last hours as comfortable as possible.
Deanna paid a price for this kindness, however. She says, “I spent most of the day holding back tears or letting them flow.” Sometimes that’s the price we pay when we give ourselves away.
1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
Everyday our incredible nurses, first responders, and other medical providers selfishly give and give and give, sometimes till they have nothing left. For most of us this pandemic is an inconvenience, but for them it is a heavy burden they bear with grace, caring, and professionalism, showing each of us what real love is, the kind of love that calls us to lay it all on the line, just like Jesus did.
Today, please take a moment to say “Thank you” to a nurse, a doctor, or the countless others who selflessly give so much for so many everyday. Thank them for giving their time, their energy, their skills and for putting their own lives on the line, to help us get through this crisis. While you’re at it, give them (and yourself) a gift that can really make a difference – go get vaccinated! Then get out there and follow their example:
Be like Jesus and give yourself away!