Encouragement
A Precious Gift
© 2008
by
Stephen A. Peterson
Marine 2nd Battalion 3rd Brigade 5th Marine Division had a blood donor program whereby if a Marine donated a pint of blood that individual could take a day off if being off did not conflict with Platoon or Company missions. Viewing this as an opportunity to get a little time off, Sergeant Norman Fritz decided to sign up. As Sergeant Fritz waited his turn, he began a conversation with Private Justina Collins, a young Marine who had only been out of basic training just 8 months ago. He asked Private Collins what she would do with her free day on a 100 degree day in Baghdad.
Private Collins indicated that she had no interest in having a day off. “That’s not why I give my blood,” the Private said boldly. “I give because I have received.”
Private Collins went on to tell Sergeant Fritz how, while only being in Iraq for seven weeks how, she was injured in a roadside bombing attack followed by small arms fire. After receiving major surgery to remove bullets from her hip and chest, she awoke in the recovery room so cold she thought it to be winter in Baghdad. Piles of military blankets did not help. After evaluating her situation, the medical team decided she needed a transfusion of whole blood. Though barely conscious, Private Collins reported she could feel the precious blood make its way through her starved arteries and views. She could actually feel every fiber of her being warming up and a renewal of life.
“It was the most beautiful feeling I have ever experienced,” she said. “As I lay there in that hospital room, I thanked God, the doctors and my fellow Marines who cared enough to give me the blood I needed to live. I now give my blood that others may live.”
At that moment Sergeant Fritz felt so ashamed. Sure, donating his blood would help perhaps another Marine, maybe other Service Members or maybe even an Iraqi citizen. But he knew he was not giving for the right reason. As a Christian, Sergeant Fritz knew, since he became of age, that Jesus Christ gave His blood unconditionally for him and every person for all time. Like, Private Collins who experienced the life saving blood of fellow Marines, Sergeant Fritz felt a renewed salvation and warmth of the Blood shed by the Son of God on his behalf. Sergeant Fritz realized more fully the mystery of His death because He cared enough to sacrifice every drop of His blood for him. At that moment, Sergeant Fritz could feel a warming of his being and a renewal of his spirit like he never, ever experienced before. Sergeant Fritz apologized to the Lord for his moment of selfishness with a self reflective, rhetorical question: “Will I ever really learn to care as much for others as Jesus did for me and all of humankind? Probably not—but I can begin to try this very day.
What about you?
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