A Sacred Encounter - Breath of Life

I’ve been blessed to consider my job as my calling in being able to serve many roles in sharing the journeys of others to inspire, educate, and bring deeper understanding and compassion to those we serve. Today I received back the precious gift of affirmation as one of my responsibilities as a CPR instructor from a grateful student who attended one of my classes last October.

He was in our office this morning to register for a class. As I came out of my office towards him, he reached out to give me a warm embrace. I said that it had been a long time since we last saw each other and he said he was returning from an extended family leave to care for his son. He then proceeded to tell me that his son nearly died from a rare medical condition that stopped his heart and he had to perform CPR for almost six minutes until medical help could arrive and eventually revive him. He said it was a miracle that his son survived and he broke down as he praised God that he had been there for that moment his son went down.

As he was telling me his experience, I recalled how he approached me after that class to tell me how much he got out of my instruction and that he really understood the why’s of what we teach in the course. Having performed CPR in real life on a drowning victim years ago, I bring that experience into my instruction to drive home the details including music and tips to help my students remember the steps of life-saving compressions and air management, despite not being a clinician myself. Thank God, he recalled the steps when it mattered most to deliver the breaths and beats of life to help his son.

From his grateful story, I am reflecting on my own motivations and passion for doing things, and I’m grateful that I made a difference in the life of someone else in an indirect way.

It reminds me of the many incredible teachers, leaders, mentors, coaches, friends, and family members through the years who made valuable impressions on my life. Though they may never hear of or understand the impact they made; the person I am was influenced by their own passions and efforts to teach me lessons that guide my own life.

So thank you to the people in our everyday lives who bring passion, value, integrity, dignity, service, excellence, and justice to those they serve. Hopefully those values not only envelop us, but the people we impact on our own journeys. Life is not about passing the day to get to the next. It’s not about watching the game from afar. It’s about getting in the game and making a difference each and every day to impact the lives of others.