Macey Wright was born with a congenital heart defect. She was 14 when she learned she’d be getting a new heart. Her mom filmed the emotional reaction because she wanted the world to know what getting that call is like. While they struggled with being sad for the donor’s family, they were also filled with gratitude for the gift.
We are transplant recipients too. We were sick and dying, facing a future of only pain and suffering because we were separated from God. Then God sent Jesus to make the ultimate sacrifice, and he gave us an unbelievable gift. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).
While we struggle with being sad that Jesus—our donor family—had to die so we could live, we are also filled with gratitude for the gift of life he gave us.
Now we get to celebrate our new heart, our living heart, one that isn’t cold and insensitive to the needs of the world but a heart that loves God and looks for the ways he has prepared for us to serve others.
As transplant recipients, we don’t keep this news to ourselves. We tell the world that they can have the same surgery and have the same new outlook on life.
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About the Author
Linda Buxa
Linda Buxa is a freelance writer and editor and a regular blogger and contributing writer for Time of Grace. She is the author of Dig In! Family Devotions to Feed Your Faith, Made for Friendship, and Parenting by Prayer. Linda and her husband, Greg, have lived in Alaska, Washington D.C., California, and are now in Wisconsin. They have three pretty great kids who are all taller than she is.