During a very busy day with patients, Mary took a phone call from a woman in Florida. That in itself is not particularly unusual, of course. We routinely receive calls from people in other states to purchase books or nutritional products. But what she wanted was to ship us something. The something?...A wheelchair!
She started by telling Mary this story. She had taken a friend to a doctor’s appointment at the hospital and naturally had to wait for her. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to bring a book to occupy her time. Looking for a magazine to read, she felt drawn to The Daily Word magazine that lay amongst a large variety of other magazines. She picked it up and read an article by Laura Harvey called, “A Passion for Giving”. It tells about how I became a medical missionary, why I continue to do it and why everyone needs to find an outlet to give. There’s a great photo of me pushing a young man in a wheelchair with his cousin and father in the background. Actually, I had him leaning back in the chair as I “popped a wheelie” with him. It was great fun, especially because it gave him new freedom. He rarely got out of the house unless someone carried him out. The article mentions him and the wheelchair we donated. We didn’t know who would benefit from the chair but we were guided to him. It was a perfect match. It even had a seatbelt…which he needed.
Well, the woman from Florida was so moved by the article, that she told her husband about it when she returned home. He became inspired and reminded his wife that they possessed a new wheelchair that had been her mother’s. At that moment they decided to contact our office and ship the wheelchair to me. Their intention is for me to bring it on my next medical mission and donate it to just the right person.
Isn’t it wonderful how a short article like that can move people to such great action? That wheelchair will soon find a new home and be of use and comfort to other people far from its original home. Countless lives may benefit from it over a lifetime. And what of that couple in Florida? What else will they do? I doubt it’s over for them.
I’m confident if they aren’t already in service to others, they will be now. I wonder who else may have read the article and been inspired to take action in their own way? The ripple effect may be endless.
To some, the donation of a wheelchair may seem somewhat insignificant in the scope of world problems. But to the people whose lives are enhanced by it…it’s priceless.
What kind of change could we see in our lifetime if everyone was “tuned in” the way those folks were. They listened to inspiration, their inner voice, intuition, the nudge from God. Whatever it was, they not only listened, but took the next critical step that so many ignore—they took action. It’s a lesson we can all learn from. Listen and act. I invite you to read the Daily Word article, the magazine is wonderful and I know you’ll love it! To view the article visit the Daily Word website at
http://www.dailyword.com/articles/2009/november/passion-giving
Yours In Service,
Dr. Rick Barrett
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