well at least it hasn't been a WHOLE year since my last post. a lot has happened. but that's for another post. today i experience true, amazing grace.
i was recently brought on full time at my church, and got some health insurance along with that. it's not the greatest coverage, but it gave me the opportunity to get a physical (after about 4 years) and some bloodwork. i also needed to get an ultrasound in order to check on a mass to make sure it was benign.
the insurance covered the physical and bloodwork fully, as preventative coverage. but the ultrasound came back to me at $1500. part of the church insurance (since it's a $2500 deductible) deal is to give us a $1000 flexible spending account. so in the end, i was going to be able to use that $1000, then pay $500 out of pocket. i figured it wasn't a terrible deal.
so today was the day to settle my account. and strangely, for some reason, i decided to go in to their office to settle up -- i think part of it was that i was going to have to use two different methods of payment. but anyway, i walked up to the desk with my statement, and handed it to the woman at the counter -- Ruth. as she walked over to the computer to bring up my account, i took my two credit cards out of my wallet: the flexible-spending-account card, as well as my own. as Ruth looked at my bill, she raised her eyebrow a bit at the $1500 i was about to have to fork over. and with no provocation, she picked up the phone and dialed some internal extension. it was unclear to me at that moment what was happening.
someone at the other end picked up, and Ruth proceeded to ask, "I've got a guy here with a $1500 bill for an ultrasound -- anything we can do for him? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. $750? Ok." and she hangs up. i look at her and say, "Just like that?" she replied, "Just like that." i proceed to thank her extensively, and tell her that this is one of the most encouraging things i have experienced in a long time. so my spending account has some money left in it, and i didn't have to pay a single cent out of my own pocket.
as i walked out of the building, i teared up a bit, realizing that this is what true, unwarranted grace feels like. and i feel truly blessed as a result. and i am going to send Ruth some flowers.
