Claiming Thankfulness

Sickness did not sneak up on me. Sickness did not work its way into my life because of any bad health decisions I made. There was no family history waiting to show itself again. In fact, I was perfectly healthy for twenty five years, never a broken bone, rarely a visit to the doctor.

My sickness had a cause. My sickness started the day my epidural went wrong. Science is still a mystery to most, and our bodies can do some fascinating things, but no one will ever convince me that my sickness just developed on its own. You don’t go from leaking spinal fluid from a faulty epidural to making too much spinal fluid all on your own, not after being perfectly healthy. Common sense tells you it was all related, that it all had a beginning, a cause and effect.

Now, common sense in this day and age would also tell you that knowing those facts, I should have gotten a lawyer. I should have. Regret number one was getting the epidural. Regret number two was not getting a lawyer in time.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

No matter how many people told me the same great advice, I resisted. I did not want to be considered just another sue happy person. I was sure I probably signed some waiver before the epidural saying what could happen. I was already frustrated trying to find answers and cures. I was already aggravated trying to sort out all of the mistakes made with the insurance company and hospital bills. I was still trying to work my full time job and take care of my infant son. I couldn’t stand the thought of taking on yet another project of getting a lawyer. It intimidated me.

Then things went from bad to worse. Medical bills grew larger, and the hospital would not cooperate with me. I reached out to the first lawyer that came up who was ready and interested to take my case once he could review my medical records more.

Then I backed up. I wanted to give the hospital one more chance to fix their mistake and cover the costs. Unfortunately, my door closed. Before anything could be resolved, I hit the peak of my sickness and spent the next few months working solely on getting better. By the time I tried to contact the lawyer again, my one year deadline was up. I called several other law firms, and they all told me the same thing. I had one year to file a claim, and I missed it. There was nothing more I could do other than accept the fact that I had made an unwise decision and pray for more wisdom in the future.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5

I often think about how different my life could have been had I gone through with it in the beginning. While it may have done little as far as a cure, winning the claim would have relieved so much of the financial burden we ended up facing and still face today. I imagined it as God finally opening up the floodgates and blessing us for all that we had gone through.

Then I wondered if that would have changed my faith. Of course it would have been easy for us to praise God after having won a claim like that. It would have been a great topper to a testimony that, like Job, we lost everything and received so much more in the end.

But how differently would I be walking in the midst of my testimony if I didn’t struggle completely? Most people don’t give it a second thought when they reach down to get a drink out of the bottom of the fridge. They don’t know what they have. I thank God every time I do that because there were so many times that I couldn’t bend down without pain filling my body. I am thankful for my health today because at one point I didn’t have it.

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:15

The same goes for our provisions. It is one thing to live paycheck to paycheck, but when you have lost your job, and you have no idea where the money will come from, you are beyond thankful when that money finally arrives.

When you pray to God for years to be blessed with a child, and He finally answers that prayer, you treasure that child. You praise God for hearing your prayer.

I thank God for what He brought me through. I thank God for showing me how to appreciate everything so much more because at one point, I didn’t have it. It may be miserable to feel like you have lost everything, but it only makes you treasure everything more.

The first time I started to lose partial sight from my sickness, I stared out of the window on the way to the hospital, never having loved so much the hideous town I lived in. I didn’t know what the doctors would say, but I knew that at that moment, the sky and trees never looked more beautiful.

There are so many things we take for granted. If only we just stopped for a moment to really think about everything we have in life. We may not own a house, but we live in a home. We have shelter. We may not be a manager, but we have a job. We may not have our hearing, but we have our sight. Some people have no voice, but you can sing a song of praise. Some people are paralyzed, but you can jump for joy.

 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content – Philippians 4:11

Thank God for His blessings. Thank God for everything you once took for granted. Thank God for everything you are struggling with or every difficult circumstance you come to because it is a blessing from Him to make you stronger. The devil might mean it for evil, but he will not be pleased when we turn around and praise God for His everlasting goodness. Claim your thankfulness.