i gave blood

last weekend. i really enjoy it actually. giving blood. i've never been too squeamish about blood or needles. in high school i always volunteered to give blood when the blood banks came around every year. what could be better right? you got out of 2 for sure...maybe even 3 classes...you got free cookies...and you're helping people out. what could be better? anybody with me?

well...to be totally transparent with you...i have to admit that i hadn't given blood in many many years right up until last summer when a friend of mine was coordinating a blood drive for her church. i signed up because it reminded me of my fond blood giving memories from my high school days. what i didn't consider was that the blood banks had gotten a lot more sophisticated in their ability to retain donors. because almost 4 months later (the minimum amount of time before you can give blood again) i got a phone call...actually, i received about 4 phone calls asking if i'd come back in and donate. so i finally scheduled a date over the phone and not a minute after i hung up....my cell phone buzzed with a new email. "thank you for making an appointment to give blood!"

HOW DID THEY DO THAT??? DID I EVEN GIVE THEM MY EMAIL ADDRESS?

anyway. my day came. i showed up. i gave blood. ate some cookies...a lot of cookies actually. got the bright blue arm bandage. done. what came next really got me though. as soon as i walked back in the door to my house, i looked at my phone and there was another email from the blood bank. at first i thought that i had finally found a flaw in their system...like they were trying to get me to schedule another appointment or something. but when i read the email i saw something very different. it said....

you are our hero! thank you for donating blood.

wow. it's amazing how good it feels to get thanked huh? that got me thinking...(dangerous)...the nurse said maybe 10 or 20 people on average will benefit from my blood donation. 10 or 20! a lot right? to get my blood donation, they called 4 times, gave me cookies, sent 2 emails and at the end of the day, that effort will help 10 to 20 people. they even emailed to thank me right after. but there's someone else that gave blood too...only HE didn't need a reminder email. and HIS donation helped all of man kind. everyone. JESUS CHRIST gave HIS blood...all of it...freely...for the benefit of us all. i believe that.

listen...i'm not saying that donating blood isn't a good thing....cause it is. but the truth is...i'm no hero. but i know that HE is. the question is...have i thanked HIM lately? have you? maybe it's time we did.

less of me...