It was a very challenging season of our lives. We had job changes, limited resources and strained capacity. Then what should have been a fun day, our twin’s ninth birthday, turned extremely difficult when an unexpected bike-riding injury caused tremendous pain, and left us with a big pile of medical bills.
We had gone on a family bike ride that day, December 13th, and we were supposed to be having a good time, but an unexpected turn caused me to fall on the bicycle and in the process of trying to break the fall, I broke my leg. It was very painful. The ambulance came to the trail that we were on and took me to the emergency room. It required immediate surgery as it was a compound fracture with both the large bones, the tibia and fibula having been broken. They had both incurred a very serious break and the bones were coming through the skin. Because of the tension and stress leading up to the injury, there was a great deal of physical, emotional and psychological trauma.
I was in the hospital for several days and the recovery was five months long. I had to wear a boot, use a walker for things in close proximity, and use a wheelchair for further distances. I had daily maintenance to the wounds and prayerful pleas for a full recovery with full feeling and range of motion. The Lord granted the healing and gave me the promise in scripture that says, “If I heal you, you will be healed, and if I save you, you will be saved.” That word came to me on the third day, and I held onto that with the faith that the Lord gave me, and He healed me, and gave me both feeling and full range of motion in my right leg! I was so grateful and humbled by His great faithfulness! But that’s not all!
As the bills started arriving in the mail, there were bills for the ambulance, bills for the surgeon, bills for the hospital, bills for the anesthesiologist, and the lab work and everything else that the ordeal had incurred. On top of that, we had bills from our son’s trip to the hospital, and transport to another hospital just a few months prior. It was a horrendous ordeal. But I knew that God had been faithful and would continue to bring us through it all.
I prayed and hoovered over the edge of my bed with the bills all spread out and asked God for help in meeting all the obligations in a timely way. It was more than what we could pay in the natural. But it wasn’t too difficult for our mighty God! As the Lord instructed me, I took a blank piece of paper and started to list the bills and the amount and who it was to, and when it was due. I numbered so that I could keep track of them all. The small ones and the huge ones. The number totaled to more than 30 different bills. Then the Lord began to give me a strategy for each one. For one hospital, we called and explained our circumstance and asked if we could pay half, and they accepted. So, we praised the Lord, wrote the check and put it in the mail immediately. For another hospital, we went online and looked up the vice-chairman of the board and sent a letter by email requesting a hearing for the extenuating circumstances. We continued to follow up with them concerning the justice for what we had been charged, until they removed the debt in full from our account. We had experienced the overwhelming sovereignty of a merciful and mighty God!
One by one, each bill on the list was checked off, and one by one, the Lord made a way for us to pay everyone. With every bill, we checked off the list, I cried tears of rejoicing to a great and glorious God, one who hears from heaven and who saves and recues! Our debt was paid. Every last one of the medical bills was lifted off of us. It took months and the better part of a year, but God walked with us and guided us, instructed us and granted us the freedom that we were in desperate need of! And He can do it for you! We will forever praise him!
Article Written by: Debbie Harper, Ph.D.
