Saturday, October 3, 2009

Sacrificial Acts of Love

Instead of the usual book review, I decided to participate in the writing assignment/challenge issued as part of the blog tour for Mary DeMuth's latest novel A Slow Burn, which is the second book of the Defiance, Texas trilogy. The book released this week and is available on amazon.com here. For a list of other participants in the blog tour, check out this link. I received my copy for free as part of the blog tour.

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In August 2003, after I had endured three months of excruciating pain, the surgeon agreed to remove my gall bladder. In his wisdom, he scheduled the surgery for August 8, exactly one week before I was slated to close on the purchase of my first house.

I wanted the surgery even more than I needed it, so postponing was not an option. Trying to reschedule a planned move and closing proved too costly. So knowing that I had to pull off all the details involved with those two big life events in the span of a week, I put out a cry for help. And my friends answered.

Tracey got up at o'dark-thirty, picked me up from my apartment that was nowhere near her house, and drove me to the hospital for my surgery.

Sallie allowed me to recuperate at her house so that I wouldn't have to climb the stairs to my third-floor apartment.

After I returned to my apartment, Melissa brought over all the cookware and ingredients to make me dinner and then engaged me in a game of Scrabble to keep my mind off the impending move.

Angela and Layne drove in from Denton and Frisco after a long day's work to pack my belongings.

And Rebecca, who had known me for only a few weeks, came and cleaned my apartment and then volunteered her son to help me move.

Together, my friends conquered my long list of needs. They gave up sleep, comfort, time, and money in order to love on me. And in my weakened state, I could not repay their acts of kindness; I could offer only a meager "thank you."

Six years have now passed since my surgery and move, but my friends' sacrificial acts of love remain fresh on my mind. They encourage me to think of ways in which I can show sacrificial love to others when they need it most.

3 comments:

Jean said...

Aren't friends wonderful? Thank you, God, for them.

Jean
http://www.jeanmatthewhall.blogspot.com

Krista Sanders said...

Wow. It says a TON about the company you keep, but also about the person they love too. They were eager to serve such a DEAR friend.

Mary DeMuth said...

Great story! Great friends!