Blood Donation

In her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott recounts a story told by Jack Kornfield of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. it’s about an eight-year-old boy whose younger sister was dying of leukemia. He was told that without a blood transfusion she would die. His parents explained to him that his blood was probably compatible with hers and, if so, he would be the blood donor. They asked him if they could test his blood. He said, “Sure.” They did and learned it was a good match. They asked if he would donate to his sister a pint of his blood because it could be her only chance of living. He said he would have to think about it overnight. The next day he went to his parents and said he was willing to donate the blood. So they took him to the hospital where he was placed on a gurney beside his six-year-old sister. Both of them were hooked up to IV’s. A nurse withdrew a pint of blood from the boy, which was then eventually transferred to his sister’s IV. The boy lay on his gurney in silence while the blood dripped into his sister, until the doctor came over to see how he was doing. Then the boy opened his eyes and asked, “How soon until I start to die?”

Orphans in India

Sonali, 14 year old, caretaker to younger siblings. She cooks for them, feeds them, and rocks them to sleep as her mother would.

“My mother kept us safe like an umbrella does, from the heat and rain of life,” said Sonali, holding back tears. “I imagine her being close to me. That’s what keeps me going.”

Sonali and her siblings are among more than 3,000 Indian children who have been orphaned during the pandemic, according to state governments.

They had come to deliver an “orphan pension” to the children, enough money to last for the summer. Bank accounts were opened in their names. The officials dropped off large bags of rice. 

Saucer-eyed, Sonali listened carefully as they rattled off a list of instructions for using her bank account. Her siblings — Jagabalia, 8, and Bhabana, 5 — looked on listlessly, clutching their sister’s blue dress.

By Suhasini Raj, New York Times, July 10, 2021

For Love

 I once knew a woman . . . she asked her son to shine her shoes

She put a quarter in each one . . . cause she thought that was his due

But he returned the money . . . and when she asked him why that was

He said, “Mom, I’m old enough to know by now . . .

You just do some things  . . . for love”

 

song lyrics “You Give it All Your Heart” by Bill Mallonee

Love Without Coercion

 My wife and I waited 15 years for a child that never came by the natural way. However we were approached one day with a lead of a child not yet born. I remember standing in front of the judge on our day of adoption. He pointed his finger and asked of me, “Is anyone coercing you to adopt this little boy?” After we had assured him that we were doing so out of love for our son, he made this statement. “From today on, he is your son. He may disappoint you, even grieve you but he is your son. Everything you own one day will be his and he will bear your name.” Then he looked to the clerk and gave this command. “So order a change in this child’s birth certificate and may it reflect that these are the parents of this child.”

It was then that I realized that my Heavenly Father loved me so much that, without coercion, He loved me and gave His all to me. On that day, He changed my name and I gladly bear His name and His image.

Gerald Penix

https://bible.org/illustration/love-without-coercion