You Gave What??

Don was a member of a church that Cammy and I planted. He was nearly retired from his corporate career, and seemingly always around the church, available to help out. Don came to us out of the Quaker tradition where prayer and service to others was simply a part of life. Don ushered, was a teacher in his and Bobbie’s Sunday School class, helped with the annual Tent Garage Sale for Mission, and directed our twice-a-year blood drive. A quiet man with a gentle smile, Don alerted me he would be unable to attend a blood drive he had organized for church. The American Red Cross had invited him to attend a gala in Houston, for what he was unsure. All he knew was he and Bobbie were being flown down and put up at a 5-star hotel for the occasion.  

When he returned, Don had his usual quiet and wry smile and a twinkle in his eye. He had something to share.

“Well,” I said, “what was the secret?”

Don said, “At their annual black-tie dinner event, the American Red Cross awarded me a large piece of crystal with my name on it for having passed the 50-gallon mark in blood donations.” I was slack-jawed. “You gave WHAT??”

I was furiously doing the math in my head. Fifty gallons over about a 50-year span of donating is a gallon a year. There are eight pints in a gallon. Don was donating eight units of blood every year. With a job, wife, kids, church, vacations, sickness, Don was donating eight units of blood every year for 50 years. And I was feeling pretty good about my twice a year church donation!

Turns out that only 3% of the American population gives blood. Don reminds me we can do better for those who have no options beyond our donations to sustain their lives. So we have a blood drive this Sunday with openings available around our time receiving the blood of Christ at the prayer rail. Thank you, Don for reminding us of the essential nature of both for our lives and those we serve.  

Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,