Living Given
By Amber Neufeld
Gift: “A natural ability or talent” or “a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present”. Gifts. We all have them. We don’t always know we have them. We don’t all use them, but we should. All gifts reveal the incredible beauty and the greatness of God, His heartbeat and His character. To live given is a gift we give others and in turn receive ourselves.
The first time I met Sarah she was sitting on a bench outside of the Emergency Response Center with Darcy. His swollen, infection-ridden feet were in her hands and she was talking to him with a constant flow of information. The sun was blazing and she had created a makeshift awning above their heads with a few dirty old coats, and some string tied into remarkable knots. Her patient was effectively shaded as she cared for his wounds. His constant grumbles included, “this #$%#@#$ crazy lady won’t leave me alone. She keeps helping me and I don’t even want her here. I don’t even know who she is. Stop touching me!” But Sarah wasn’t deterred in any way. She was there on a mission, and she wouldn’t leave until she was convinced that her patient had been assisted effectively. She explained that she had found him outside, unable to walk, his swollen feet needing a massage, his wounds needing to be rebandaged, and the alcohol he had been consuming needing to be replaced by water. Darcy tried to convince us that he wasn’t happy about this meeting, but secretly we knew he was. He never moved his feet away, he complied with her demands, and the two of them sat together all day until staff found Darcy a bed inside and convinced them both to come in to sleep. Sarah would be there as long as she was needed.
I soon realized that this wasn’t a unique experience for Sarah. She had been found a few days later in the men’s washroom. She was unconcerned about the inappropriate location of her operating room as she diligently changed the dressing on her friend Marvin’s head. He had fallen earlier and the wound was messy. The job needed to be done.
A week later I found Sarah sprawled outside of the double doors to the shelter, fast asleep. I walked up to her and gently shook her shoulder, “Sarah, why are you sleeping outside the front doors of the shelter? You have a bed here. Are you ok?”
She looked up and smiled, “Oh hi! Yes, I know. But have you seen how tiny these security guard ladies are here? They can’t take care of this place alone. I’m making sure everyone is safe”. She was now caring for the entire shelter. Sarah has this beautiful child-like aura about her as she tends to those around her without concern for herself or the norms of society. Her gift is that she will care for others no matter the cost. She has the heart of a nurse, just not the means.
A gift is something given. Always. Whether it’s a bouquet of flowers, a meal, a smile, a kind word or an abundance of kind words; the ability to give of ourselves is what brings healing. Our guests’ gifts often go unnoticed, washed away in the messiness of the struggle. They don’t see them and in turn we miss them. The upside-down nature of God is that when we give we receive in abundance, we heal both ourselves and our community, and we reveal God’s character. Sarah may not be able to put words to this, but she knows it. And she uses it to love through the mess and the discomfort. Today, as I walk through the mission and the swinging pendulum of life, I’ll search a bit harder for the gifts of those around me. And I’ll pray that the search will carry on into tomorrow.
“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”
Isaiah 58: 7-8
