Surprised by grace

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.—Hebrews 9:22

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.—Ephesians 1:6-9

Blood draws in the lab are pretty routine; roll up the sleeve, tie the rubber tourniquet, make a fist, then a little pinch and you are all done.

Not this time!

A couple years ago, I had a mini eye “stroke” that resulted in a small croissant shaped loss of vision in my right eye. My doctor in Kansas decided I should be on Palvix as an extra precaution. (Plavix is good stuff as evidenced by the sometimes dramatic bruises that arise from innocent encounters with a chair, desk or door.)

I went to the Patient Service Center at Florida Hospital Tampa last week to have a lab test to determine if the Plavix is still necessary. Vickie and her team always do a nice job drawing blood and I expected the same routine.

Not this time!

Instead of just drawing my blood, I was told that to complete the study an additional vial of another person’s  blood was needed!  What? A stranger’s blood was needed for my test to be completed? So I thought I’d have to reschedule and find someone to help.

But Lisa, the nurse attending me said, “I will give my blood so your test can be done.”