Recently, Graciana’s wisdom teeth started to give her problems. We tried a number of home remedies but eventually the pain was too much and we needed to find a Dentist. Sourcing healthcare on the road has its challenges, but we have experienced amazing provision and miracles, so we knew that it would eventually all work out.
While in Fredericksburg VA, our host family referred us to their dentist and he was able to get it us the next day for an exam. While there he found that her teeth were growing in sideways and needed to be removed. He was kind enough to refer us to his friend and fellow colleague, an oral surgeon. We were a bit stressed about the diagnosis, and the cost of things to come, but we were thankful for the openness of both doctors in fitting us into their schedules right away. As we walked into the oral surgeons office for the prelim, we fully expected to walk out with excellent care but a mammoth bill. Instead we walked out with excellent care, opportunity to share faith and an appointment to have Graciana’s wisdom teeth removed in the morning. On the way out of the door the Doctor let us know that we need not worry about the cost of this procedure, that it would be a gift!
What?!
The coolest part of the story, was that the night prior we had a conversation with our host, about how our faith has been and continues to be instrumental in our decision to live the way we do. Our host, a lawyer, really struggled with the idea of letting God have control of our lives on a practical level and the thought of living the way we do terrified him. He asked all sorts of questions about how we deal with the “catastrophic” or when things go wrong. We answered simply that God had proven faithful in taking care of our needs through miracles and through acts of kindness from others, and that we believed the same for this situation. Also, that when things have gone wrong, there was always an amazing story of healing or reconciliation, even during times that seemed to be the end of us. He said, he couldn’t discern if we were “prudent” or “foolish.” And, honestly, we wonder that sometimes too.
None the less, after the series of events that transpired at the Dentist office, we came home with a report of God’s faithfulness. We shared that even though we were distraught about the potential debt that God had gone before us and ‘practically’ cared for us. This really blew his mind, and quite frankly, ours too! God had plans to care for us but more than that, to care for our host by revealing a character that is faithful and good.
We have a deep gratitude for all that God has given us. Living in pure grace, it’s important that we not misinterpret ourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to us. And this, is what we hope we leave our host with, that the only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
Tillers & Travelers 