An EMT volunteer for United Hatzalah in Israel named Yoav Shemaryahu responded to a medical emergency during the Passover.
After entering the scene of the emergency, he found a young lady named Hila Meuda in the shower fully clothed and in tears, so he asked what the problem was so he could evaluate the situation (Poch, Raphael 2020).
She was heating wax in the microwave in preparation to go out to the mall with friends. Unfortunately, after she opened the door it exploded, got on her face and arms when she opened the door, resulting in second degree burns. Her mother hurried her to the shower where Yoav found her with the wax still stuck on her skin. She was afraid that no one would ever want to be her friend again because of the scars. Yoav spent hours removing the wax from her burnt skin so burn wounds would heal correctly (Poch, Raphael 2020).
This emergency was just one of hundreds that Yoav would respond to, but it would become very memorable. A year after responding to Hila Meuda’s emergency he received an unexpected phone call from her. She thanked him for treating her burns and invited him to her wedding. He rarely hears back from anyone he helps and he was very thankful to be remembered and included in her special day (Poch, Raphael 2020). While getting burned is an ugly experience, finding time to show appreciation is beautiful.
Yeshua had a similar story about appreciation and asked a good question. “As he entered one of the villages, ten men afflicted with tzara‘at (leprosy) met him. They stood at a distance and called out, “Yeshua! Rabbi! Have pity on us!” On seeing them, he said, “Go and let the cohanim (priests) examine you!” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, as soon as he noticed that he had been healed, returned shouting praises to God, and fell on his face at Yeshua’s feet to thank him. Now he was from Shomron. Yeshua said, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found coming back to give glory to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17:12-19.
Why do we tend to take others for granted and don’t bother to thank them? Yeshua seems to have hinted at the answer within His own question. The foreigner was less likely to feel entitled to the blessings of Israel’s God while the children of Israel may have been more likely to deem being blessed by Israel’s God as just something they had come to expect. If we expect good from others (and have going expectations of others’ characters is not wrong) if not careful we may come to feel that the good they do is not worthy of any significant notice because we expect it. But even if someone is known for doing good things please remember to still take the time to encourage them in right doing and thank them for it because it is the kind thing to do.
References:
Poch, Raphael-United Hatzalah-2020 “Thankful Israeli Bride Invites Hatzalah EMT Who Saved Her to Her Wedding” United with Israel
https://unitedwithisrael.org/thanhttps://unsplash.com/photos/Y3OrAn230bskful-israeli-bride-invites-hatzalah-emt-who-saved-her-to-her-wedding/
Picture originally found here
