"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." –Matthew 10:8

I recall the day my dad picked me up from grade school and told me he had been diagnosed with diabetes. As a young boy, I didn’t understand the medical particulars of the illness, but I remember knowing deep down it was indeed a serious illness.

In the decades that followed, I came to understand the real implications of my dad’s diagnosis as I watched him age with his disease. One complication at a time, steadily, I watched the myriad of health issues become a reality for my dad and for our family as a whole. What started as something that required Dad simply to "watch his diet" progressively became pills, needles and surgeries.

As the years passed, my dad’s health issues became more serious, and I too became a father. It wasn’t until my wife and I had children of our own that I came to realize and appreciate the love and life lessons I learned from my dad … how freely I had received over the years.

As is the case with many diabetics, my dad began to suffer a serious loss of kidney function over time, and in 2002 he faced life-threatening kidney failure. The chance to heal the sick, giving freely through organ donation, was yet another most precious opportunity, given freely to me.

This Lenten season marks the sixth since my dad successfully received my kidney via transplantation.

Joe Zueger