Suffering

Last week @ Evergreen we talked about suffering which is always difficult because of how personal an experience it is. I was struck by the enormity of suffering that even a small church like ours had experienced. Specifically, we had two men with us who had both lost wives early (what do I have to teach them about suffering?) and one woman who is currently experiencing excruciating back pain and is in need of a very costly surgery but without insurance.

In light of that however, I must say that we've got some great sufferers. That may sound weird but it is inspiring to see people endure difficulty with such faith and courage. M'liss specifically has been a great model of what it means to be faithful to the Lord even in terrible, extended seasons of pain. She has hung in there and repeatedly affirmed her trust in God and it has been very inspiring.

She has been trying to find a way to have this very necessary surgery (if she wants to continue to walk) performed since she does not have insurance. She was turned down by the Oregon Health Plan and just last week received devastating news. The surgery was to cost 293,000 dollars! That's right! That is how much they said she would have to pay. Obviously this was a huge blow and she left a message on my phone while I was in class very distraught but STILL affirming her faith that God was going to act. For the next day and a half I just felt the weight of this and felt terrible that there was nothing we as her community could really do for her.

But then I received another call on Saturday. M'liss said that the surgeon called and asked her how she was doing. She relayed what the hospital had quoted her on the surgery and he was outraged! He said that the fact that they gave her that number was ridiculous. Then he told her, "I don't care what the cost is, we're going to schedule the surgery for August 3rd and get this done with and we'll worry about the cost later." Following that, she found out that he is simply going to charge Medicare 3,000 dollars for the surgery, which is the amount she will be responsible for! Unbelievable! I can't imagine what a relief this has got to be for M'liss and an incredible answer to prayer.

Praise God for an amazing surgeon! I'm very thankful that M'liss is part of our community to be a model of perseverance and faith for us all. This has been an incredible illustration of a person desperately and faithfully seeking God. And further, one of these stories where God comes through big time.