Surprisingly,
the most painful part of my elbow ordeal was not physical in nature,
but worry over how we would handle the extra medical expenses while
dealing with my reduced income. I knew from past outpatient surgeries
that bills would bombard us from every direction, from equipment
suppliers to x-ray technicians to anesthesiologists to the doctor
himself. Add the cost of emergency room services and even just a
one-night hospital stay, and I knew the total could well be
financially overwhelming. I reminded myself that I had insurance, but
we had never really had occasion to test it. Our claims to date had
been small ones; visits to the doctor that were usually preventative
in nature, costing us nothing, or that resulted in small bills that
we could easily handle. I waited nervously for the first bills to
arrive.
Thankfully
the billing process is a slow one, and I was able to put the worry
aside to concentrate on the more important process of recuperation.
Still, my stomach clenched the first time I opened the mailbox and
found an Explanation of Benefits from the insurance company inside.
Nervously I ripped open the envelope and hurriedly scanned the pages
inside.
“Wow!
That's not so bad...”, I said in relief. As the EOBs continued to
arrive in the days that followed, that initial response was followed
by a “That's great!”, an “Are you kidding me?!” ...as
well as happy dances in my kitchen when the “biggies” arrived!
Thanks to my insurance coverage, charges originally in the thousands
and tens of thousands of dollars had miraculously diminished
into totals that I could either pay outright or effectively manage
over time. I was thrilled, and such good news surely sped the
recovery process along. When a second surgery was scheduled, I didn't
give the financial aspect of the situation a thought, knowing now
that my insurance company had my back.
Some of
us likewise worry about the quality and strength of our faith. We
simply haven't had occasion to put our trust in God's Word to the
test. When trouble hits, we wonder if our belief system will be
strong enough to sustain us in a difficult time.
The Bible tells us that initially we are all given a measure of faith. That faith works like a muscle that grows stronger with repeated use. Eventually it is built up to the point that it can sustain the blows of doubt and discouragement that the enemy likes to throw our way, becoming the bedrock on which we build our lives and set our hopes for the future. Because of our growing personal history of the faithfulness of God, we no longer worry about what we may face tomorrow – we can look back on what he did for us yesterday and simply give thanks for His presence in our lives today. Whatever the quality of our earthly insurance, we're always in good hands with God.
The Bible tells us that initially we are all given a measure of faith. That faith works like a muscle that grows stronger with repeated use. Eventually it is built up to the point that it can sustain the blows of doubt and discouragement that the enemy likes to throw our way, becoming the bedrock on which we build our lives and set our hopes for the future. Because of our growing personal history of the faithfulness of God, we no longer worry about what we may face tomorrow – we can look back on what he did for us yesterday and simply give thanks for His presence in our lives today. Whatever the quality of our earthly insurance, we're always in good hands with God.
“Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1 KJV)
