Two are better than one….If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and there is no one around to lend a hand. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
Thank God for friends. Without them what would we do in times of trouble?…
Like on May 4, 2005. That was the day I found myself lying in bed in the hospital. The doctor enters my hospital room and virtually tells me, “Mr. Broadwater, both your kidneys have failed. You have only three options: 1) Get a kidney transplant; 2) Go on dialysis; or 3) Do nothing, and die.”
Being the brave person that I am, I had no interest in dying…So I immediately eliminated option #3. Next, I scratched off option #2, since I had no desire to be hooked up to some machine. That left me with me with my final option – Get a kidney transplant.
There was only one problem…. 75,000 people wanted a kidney transplant, and all of them were on the same Maryland waiting list. No doubt, like me, all of them were hoping and praying for just one “friend” with the right blood type, to give them a kidney.
After a brief test, doctors verified that my blood type was “B positive.” However, it was very hard to be positive (lol), knowing that people with my blood type would likely have to wait seven years before a kidney became available….unless of course, you happened to have a friend who was willing to give you one of their kidneys. The question was: Could I find a friend?
About one month after being told I needed a transplant, the hospital called me: In so many words, they said, “Mr. Broadwater, We want you to understand how the kidney donation process works here at the hospital. If someone wants to give you their kidney they come to the hospital to be tested. If you’re lucky enough to have more than one possible donor, we will put two or more donors into a group, of up to five people. Somehow, you, Mr. Broadwater, have two groups of donors. Stop sending people to the hospital to give you their kidney; we can’t process them fast enough and you have more than enough kidneys to pick from.”
My reply?– “I’m not sending anyone. They are just hearing about my problem, and for someone reason they just want to give me their kidney.” How blessed I am to have friends who are nearby in the day of calamity (Proverbs 27:9-10). No doubt, “Two are better than one….If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” That’s exactly what happened to me twice in my lifetime. The one time was in September of 2005, when a great friend generously gave me his kidney. The other time was in June of 1973, when I discovered Christ Jesus, who generously laid down his life, to rescue me from dying and facing God without a Savior.