The Juxtaposition of Transplant Prayers
I have so many close friends (or family of friends) who are in life-threatening medical situations right now. 5 cancer related, 2 genetic disorders - 1 waiting for a transplant, 1 just received a transplant. You know my thoughts on cancer. My hatred continues. However, this is the first time I have come face-to-face with the juxtaposition of transplant prayers. We pray for organs to be available before it is too late for my loved one...which means it IS too late for someone else to continue using those organs.
Dear family and friends of the soon-to-be organ donor, we pray for you possibly before you even know you will need prayers. We pray blessings over you and your loved one. We pray that God will actually make miracles happen so that our paths may never need to cross in the way that we anticipate. However, should we need to come together, we pray your days are filled with fun times, enjoying every moment with each other. We pray God gives you signs to take action now to live life to the fullest, to truly have no regrets in the coming weeks. We pray that you take good care of your bodies. We pray that you all are happy & healthy. We pray that both of our communities can help each other (even if it is anonymously through prayer) in the hard times ahead. We pray that God gives you the most amazing super-strength in the emotional and mental departments ever. We pray for the community around you to be as amazing as our friend-family. Simply put, we are praying for you now & will be forevermore.
Grief that comes with death & jubilation of a life saved may just be so far apart on the spectrum of emotions that it is difficult to experience both at the same time. Some recipient families say they feel guilt for celebrating a life saved with an organ donation. I am thankful that, at this time, I don’t feel that. I have been on the other side of the fence, my dad was an organ donor. In that time of grief, I was actually relieved that someone else had the opportunity to celebrate & feel jubilation. Guilt is not part of my emotional makeup currently.
My hope is that by sharing my prayers, it may help someone else in this situation. The Holy Spirit provided those words to go along with my torn emotions, and gave me solace, guidance and peace. If you are in this situation, know that we are praying for you as well.
The photo attached is of a peaceful place (the nearby town name is actually Happy, TX!) where it felt that my prayers floated away to God on the wind of the Great Plains. It was a calming, beautiful place. I hope that you have the ability to find a place like this in your own life.
