Bleach and Ballons. That is the summary of my afternoon, and yet it was one of the best afternoons of my entire life. You wouldn't think that these two things would necessarily go together, and yet at a children's hospital they go hand in hand.
When I first arrived at Mott this afternoon I was told that we needed to start bleaching the entire playroom because a very contagious illness had started spreading on the floor. It also made me again realize how precious life is. We fly through our days and never think about things like germs affecting our life. We take the health that we have for granted and don't use it to the fullest of our capabilities. I know there are kids on that floor who would love to be able to run around and yet they can't. And here I sit saying I am going to start working out again, but I don't. I come up with every excuse in the book so that I don't have to work out, and yet God has blessed me with abilities that I am wasting. Now granted- I am not in perfect health and I have some restrictions, but I think we all do. But I can use the gifts that God has given me in more ways than I am right now. And that is the first moment of my day that I really took away with me today. Am I just going to sit here and waste the life God has give me? Or am I going to actually use the gifts God has given me?
The second moment I cherished today was the balloons. I spent some time with a little 2.5 year old girl this afternoon. The Child Life team had a Father's Day party this afternoon and had about six leftover ballons. My little friend and I along with another volunteer walked around her floor and handed out the ballons to all the daddies we could find. She kept hopping and bouncing around saying "daddies! daddies! ballons! daddies!" It was precious. Even at 2.5 she was so excited to share her balloons with new friends. It really made me take a step back and realize what is important in life. It's little moments like this that are important. Not winning a million dollars, or getting a new car, but making someone who is hurting smile.
Volunteering at Mott is one of the best decisions that I have ever made. Today I want to encourage you to find something where you can give back and take a step back and forget about everything going on in your life for a while and pay attention to someone else for a little while.
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