comfort and joy

this past week i was "introduced" to a lung donor recipient on facebook through a friend. he shared his story with me and i with him. i asked him question after question and he answered them without hesitation. he also shared words of comfort with me. he shared with me some words of encouragement that helped him in his process. i want to share something with you that he said the other night. its something that i had never thought about before. its something that helped me tremendously. and it is something that i want you to keep in your heart.

the past few weeks i have had my donor family heavy on my heart. i never feel guilty. i just feel sad sometimes. that my donor family will have to experience heart ache in order for me to have joy. its something my mom and i have talked about on numerous occasions. death is a part of life. i know that. and it is a miracle to me that God has given man the knowledge and the ability to do organ transplantation. that He has made it possible through the death of one man, another man can have an extended life. i thought about all of this. but i still had this nagging feeling in my head that made me sad for my donor family. here are the encouraging words my new friend shared with me:

{speaking about my donor}
The Lord knows who that person is and as much as He is preparing a path for you for healing, He is also orchestrating circumstances to provide a donor. I know it's hard to think about someone losing their life in order to save others but isn't that a picture of what Christ did for us? That helped me not to feel guilty but very blessed to have received the gift of life for a second time in my life.

when i read this i got serious chill bumps. i had never thought of it that way. i know i will be getting the gift of life with my new lungs. and that is incredible. those lungs wont last forever though, but because of my salvation i will live forever.

when you say your prayers please remember my donor family. pray that the Lord will bring them peace with their decision.

and pray for my family and i as we have the donor family heavy on our hearts.

may this Christmas not only remind you of Jesus' birth but also of the sacrifice he made for us.

thank you. and God Bless.

Merry Christmas.