SPARK: Stewardship Is in My Blood

I was lying on a donation table in a church fellowship hall, a tube in my arm sending my blood into a small plastic bag. The woman attending to me said something nice to thank me for my donation. I had been thinking about some work stuff I needed to get back to, so I was really only half-listening. Awkwardly, I responded, “I’m just being a good steward of the blood that’s been given to me.” She stopped and stared at me. “I’ve never heard anybody put it that way!” she said with a smile. I thought, “Maybe that was a little much.”

I try to give blood as often as I can. The Red Cross has me listed as donating 74 pints, which means I’m coming up on my ten-gallon pin. I feel driven to keep at it as long as I can. My son, Michael, was born with a congenital heart defect, which, over the years, required several surgeries and catheterizations. In 2004, during a procedure, he started bleeding internally. The doctors struggled to find the source of the bleed. When they finally found it, and Michael was moved to recovery, I was told he had received fourteen units of blood. Every time I donate, I think of that time and other times when he had surgeries. He was kept alive by blood donated by people doing exactly what I was doing: being a steward of the blood that’s been given to us. Stewardship is certainly not limited to blood; it includes time, energy, and talent. Stewardship involves our hands, feet, voices, and presence when someone is in need.

This month, Christians around the world will celebrate the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. On Good Friday, we will all be reminded that his blood was given for our benefit, for our redemption, and to remind us that, in God’s eyes, we were worth saving. As you think about it, and if you meet the health qualifications, consider participating in a blood drive. Be sure to tell someone you are being a good steward of the blood God gave you. who knows, it might catch on.