The Gift

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with a man who became one of the most important people in my life about three years ago. His name is George and he signed up to be on the bone marrow donor registry in the 1980's and it wasn't until the summer of 2005 that he was called and asked to save my son's life.

George and I have talked on the phone for the past two years, but it wasn't until yesterday that we met face to face. He had a layover in Baltimore and since we were in Maryland for Christmas, we decided it was perfect timing. I was so nervous to meet this man. Honestly, how do you thank someone for performing one of the most selfless acts I can think of. I expected so much emotion, but upon meeting him, it was just like we had been old friends and were finally catching up with each other after a long time apart. We took George back to my mom's house where he was overwhelmed with many relatives, all anxious to thank him for being such an amazing person. We talked, we shared stories, we showed him all the pictures we had of Aren, and when he left, I felt like I had witnessed a miracle.

This man saved my son. Without him, Aren would not be here. As I've reflected over the past 24 hours, I can't help but wonder if this is what it will be like when I meet the Savior. All the emotion and all the hype will take a back seat as I meet Him for the first time, after conversing for years, and instead it will be like meeting an old friend. I will thank Him for saving me, but words will mean nothing and in the end it won't really matter because we both know what each other really wants to say.

Aren of course thought the whole thing was pretty cool. When we asked him about George, he said, "You know, I really liked him! I thought he was a really nice guy!" I'm really not sure Aren has any idea just how much this man has played a role in his life, but he pretty much nailed it...he is a really nice guy.