What Difference Does a Hamburger Make?
My oncology nurse friend is all about bringing sunshine into the world. What a joy it must be for her patients who face a riveting cancer diagnosis. Her bright light intersects their darkness with hope. In addition to her nursing job, she is also a volunteer at a charitable organization that is truly a “back-up resource” for families who have a loved one dealing with cancer, and if that’s not enough…..she goes to hospice facilities to cheer up the families and their loved ones. I couldn’t resist sharing the following story with you. It touched me so much.
Jodi was headed to a hospice facility to visit a patient there. As she approached the facility, a 93-year-old man was sitting on the porch. She greeted him with “How are you doing today?” He responded, “Good — and I’m working on the pretty!” She remarked that he was a delight and just had to sit down and visit with him a while. They carried on a long conversation and he mentioned “I’d love a hamburger.” She didn’t hesitate to say: “I’ll be right back” and went to get that burger for him. There wasn’t a question about whether it was good for him or not — she knew her attention to him WAS good for him. She came back with the hamburger and a strawberry shake. The dear man had a chair pulled up right next to him for Jodi to sit by him. Jodi said he ate every bite and drank all the shake. She spent over two hours with him. Jodi was beaming as she told me this story. The dear man passed away a few days later.
What makes someone go the extra mile to bring a ray of sunshine into someone’s life? Especially when that someone is close to leaving this world anyway. What difference does it make? Here’s the difference: Jodi was serving a sweet man that was getting ready to leave this world. I told her she was his midwife — giving him a sweet, comfortable and beautiful time as he was transitioning to “going home”. But, more than the sacrifice of her time for this sweet man, this was about Jodi. She was so grateful for those two hours.
Helping others makes us see what we have…..and makes us even more grateful for it. Helping others makes us happy. There is so much joy in giving. She was grateful. When we help others, it makes us see what we have and makes us more thankful for it. Jodi’s acts of kindness are seed planting times. She is already enjoying the harvest of her acts as she experiences such overflowing joy and happiness. “Give….and it shall be given back to you!” Luke 6:38
What difference does it make? Maybe our solution to complacency, boredom, loneliness and sadness is to find some-one or some-place where we can make a difference in someone’s life today. It just might be the last act of kindness they will receive, but it will be an act of kindness that will change us FOREVER.