“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

I had to wait for the tears to stop before I could write this devotion. Sometimes, you read or hear a story that touches your heart so completely that you are moved to tears. That has happened to me this morning.

As an organ donor, I’m genuinely drawn to stories of organ donation, but even more when the story involves a child’s life. Today, I read the story of a family in Alabama whose baby boy had heart failure shortly after birth. He was the youngest patient in the United States to use a Berlin heart, a device that helps pump blood while the infant awaits a heart transplant. His mother said they never prayed for a heart, because they knew praying for a heart was praying for something tragic to happen to another baby.

Four months later, in Louisiana, another family did have something tragic happen, when their six-month-old little boy began running a mysterious fever, and doctors found him to have bleeding on the brain. His parents prayed for a miracle, but during the surgery to stop the bleeding, doctors determined major malformations that couldn’t be repaired. Before the doctors took their son off life support, the couple was asked if they wanted to donate his organs.

Not only did they agree, but they pushed the transplant team to find a place for his heart. The team wasn’t sure they could find a baby close enough to receive their son’s heart, but then they found the baby in Birmingham and rushed the organ for surgery.

My heart hurts for that family. I can’t imagine losing a child in any manner. But my heart also swells with admiration in the Christ-like action, their determination to help others even in the midst of their suffering. Their decision saved another child’s life, blessed another family…and reminded many people, like myself, of what it truly means to live like Christ.

This Week: Search online for stories of organ donations touching lives and remind yourself of how, in a world filled with pain and suffering, there are those who push through the pain and find that some of the most amazing gifts can be given—and received—in the midst of a storm.

Renee Andrews