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Sacred Stories | Many Gifts, Same Spirit

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“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” - 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NIV

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I came to work in the emergency department to the news that a semi-trailer truck had collided with a recreational vehicle. Both vehicles were total losses, and there would be multiple patients.

The family in the RV included a husband and wife, their two teen-aged children, and the wife’s sister and brother-in-law. Both the mother and son required surgery. The daughter required inpatient observation. The husband and his in-laws had bumps and bruises that were treated at the site of the accident.

When the husband later arrived at the hospital, I updated him and then hugged him. As you might imagine, he and his in-laws were dazed, unable to process all that was happening and all that had so instantly changed in their world. A nurse brought them new T-shirts to change into. One of the sisters on staff came to pray with them and give them a key to a hotel room where they could clean up.

In the early afternoon, the wife’s sister and her husband came by the emergency department. As we talked, they freely shed tears. They felt blessed that the accident had brought them to our hospital.

They said that one of the paramedics gave them all the money in his pocket – $100 – for things they might need. The paramedics also made a second two-hour round trip to the accident scene to gather any personal belongings they could find for the family. When the couple went to the cafeteria for lunch, a hospital employee paid for their meal, then disappeared.

Later, I talked with the father, who said several employees had offered him their car keys so that he would have a car.

That day left me in awe of the people I work with. The outpouring of caring seemed endless. Like the family, I continually found tears in my eyes, blessed to witness this genuine caring.

I thought about how God used these people to help the strangers on the road, but I had difficulty grasping the magnitude of the grace I witnessed. It was not until later, when I told the story to my best friend, that I realized the real majesty of that day. They were simply being real Christians, quietly living their values.

Shared from the Sacred Stories Archive

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