Day 153: 6/2/13- Lung Designation

Day 153: 6/2/13- Lung Designation        
New Thing- Designate my lungs for Sarah       
Inspiration: Sarah M.    
Time: A few seconds     
Bottom Line: Praying for Sarah

The card that is in several of our wallets now.

Reflection:

One of our youngest parishioners, ten-year-old Sarah, is currently losing her battle with Cystic Fibrosis. Sarah and her family have been waiting for a lung donation that could save her life for 18 months now and the clergy have been visiting her with Communion and with prayers for the more than 100 days that she has been in the hospital. It is a heart-breaking situation and we are calling on the Holy Spirit to come and blanket all those who are touched by Sarah and her testimony of hope. Indeed, Sarah has impressed me over and over again with her ability to smile, laugh and even sing about her hope that her life will be saved and her struggle will be able to help other children who are in the same situation.  

Christians are a people of hope—a hope that is founded on a God who loves and holds all of His children in a bond that can never be broken—even by struggle, pain or death.  Yet, this reality of hope and love can seem hard to grasp in the face of something as tragic as the suffering of a child. It may be hard to know how to respond in hope-filled ways. 

Thankfully, we have an opportunity to join together in love and prayer that are indeed hope-filled. It comes from a 30 year old resolution of governing body of the Episcopal Church, the General Convention. In 1982, the GC passed a resolution that stated, “that The Episcopal Church…encourages all Christians to become organ, blood, and tissue donors as part of their ministry to others in the name of Christ, who gave his life that we may have life in its fullness.” This motion and call for action by the Church shows our deep commitment to being Christ like and extending the gift that is life to others just as Jesus did for us in his sacrifice on the cross. The clergy and several members of the staff have made the decision to carry a card (along with being registered organ donors) that designates that our lungs should go to Sarah should something happen to us. We consider it a way to offer our bodies as a living prayer and testament to the hope that we hold as followers of Christ.