True Givers

Here is an amazing story I read in a book I recently just finished called, "Bird by Bird," by Anne Lamott. The idea of what it means to be a true giver has been on my mind a lot lately and this true story, by Jack Kornfield of the Spirit Rock Medication Center in Woodacre, really answers that question.

An eight-year-old boy had a younger sister who was dying of leukemia, and 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 could be the blood donor. They asked him if they could test his blood. He said sure. So they did and it was a good match. Then they asked if he would give his sister a pint of blood, that 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 put on a gurney besides 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 put in the girl'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?"

This story moved me to the reality of what it truly means to give. It may not be to the magnitude of laying down your life, but we should be willing to give it all for the sake of giving.

What do you think it means to be a true giver?