My precious little Luke was born with a tiny little hole in his neck. It is hardly noticeable. In fact, it looks like a teeny dimple or a freckle, but I always knew that it wasn’t supposed to be there. At four months old, our pediatrician told us that it was probably a sinus tube that had not closed properly in the womb. At that point, it had drained several times when he had had a cold. He told us that most likely Luke would require surgery. Well, Matt and I immediately began to pray for God’s healing in Luke’s neck. We prayed that God would seal that tube, that is would never become infected, and that Luke would not need surgery. We continued to pray for the next eight months. We knew that it was not an emergency surgery, and so we waited until Luke was a year old and then went to see an Ear/Nose/and Throat Doctor. The Doctor told us that he had performed many of these surgeries and it was never “nothing”. He gave us the best and worst case scenarios but all of them ended in surgery. So we scheduled a cat-scan and prayed like crazy for a miracle.
Now on the financial side of it, Luke is on insurance, but he has a very large deductible, plus we pay a percentage of whatever costs up to a certain point. We were looking at a lot of money out of our pocket. That night, Matt and I stood in the kitchen and prayed. We joined hands and believed God for a miracle for Luke, and that God would pay Luke’s medical bill. We had total peace to do the procedure, and we knew that if God was leading us, He would take care of us. The very next day the US government announced that they were going to be sending out economic stimulus checks. Ours amounted to exactly what we might owe in medical bills! Matt and I were so excited and grateful. Before we had even asked, God was moving on our behalf to provide for our need. And yes I know that the government didn’t just send those checks for us, but it definitely was what God used in our lives to bring His provision 🙂
So Luke had the cat-scan which was very traumatic… for me. I got to hold him the whole time, but I don’t think that seeing your baby be pricked with needles and be put to sleep will ever be easy. It was a very hard day for Luke, but even in the midst of all of it we felt the presence of God (Matt a little more than me, I was pretty emotional). And the test results came back saying that they could not even find the sinus hole on the scan. There was no cyst, no cancer, no tube leading up into his sinuses. “Somehow” the tube had sealed or was gone and Luke did not need surgery! We have a wonderful, wonderful God. His timing is not always instant, but I am so glad that He is still in the miracle working business.
And speaking of timing, last week I was starting to worry because I still had not received my bill from the hospital. I so clearly felt in my heart God say to me, “You haven’t gotten the bill because the provision isn’t here yet.” This past Friday our tax stimulus money was automatically deposited into our bank account, and when I went to get the mail on Friday afternoon, there was the hospital bill…
I just wanted to encourage you with this on this Monday morning. In a blog about finances, I am so incredibly thankful that we are not alone in our financial journey. God is always with us, and He has promised to work all things for good. If you have a need today, take it to God. Ask Him for His wisdom, His direction, and His provision. After all, He is still in the business of miracles, He loves taking care of His kids, and He really does have perfect timing.