One of Those Days

We have all had a rough day now and then. The washing machine breaks. The car’s battery dies. The kids get sick. We dislocate a hip. Lightning forces us off the golf course. The boss rants and raves incessantly. Ad nauseum, Ad nauseum.

Yesterday was one of those days.

Gloria and I switched health care plans at the first of the year after learning the new plan’s directory of providers included our primary care doctor. It did. But yesterday, when Gloria was very sick and we stepped into our primary care doctor’s office, a sign on the receptionist’s desk informed us the doctor did not accept our plan. Many long phone calls later I learned we had walked into a quagmire. The health insurance company and the doctor were about as agreeable as two grizzlies vying for the same salmon.

Our agent said frankly we needed a new primary care doctor. But it took several calls to find one. Several doctors listed in the directory of providers denied belonging to the plan. The one who responded positively identified February 28 as the first available appointment day.

What might national health care look like?

That evening in Penrose, Colorado, went well. The mid-week service was well attended and the group discussion was lively and relevant. And then we all walked to our cars. While we were praying, a blinding blizzard had arrived. I wheeled my car onto the nearby highway to begin the hour-long drive that would stretch through the canyons and hills to my home in Colorado Springs.

If you know Colorado, you know snow clearance is left mainly to the sun, and it definitely wasn’t shining at 8:00 p.m. Two miles down the slick, snowy road, I faced a whiteout. So I turned around and returned to Penrose, where I slept the night away in a comfortable, warm bed. The morning ride home was treacherous, but at least I could see where I was going.

So yesterday was one of those days. But it was also a Romans 8:28 day. It lay squarely in God’s hands for my good and His glory. I found myself giving thanks for thoughtful church members who furnished the parsonage for my comfort. They had anticipated a day or two when the weather would be bad. I also was thankful for a new doctor’s willingness to accept two new patients with a Medicare supplement plan.