It’s Always Something

The Holidays seem to be the hardest time of the year to consider the right financial decisions. This year was no exception. But the Lord was keenly aware of how I would be tested over the past week, and waited patiently for me go through all the deliberations in my head about which decision was the wisest. And finally when I put Him into the equation, to know His omnipotent judgement for me, peace came and the right decisions were obvious.

It was Wednesday when my husband complained late in the day of tooth pain. I treated it for him as well as I could and promised I would get him an appointment. The soonest I could find was with one of those chain companies, not a private dentist, office on Monday. My husband was disappointed and his traumatic brain injury makes is difficult for him to wait in pain for complete relief.

Monday came (my birthday) and we arrived at the dentist expecting a quick extraction and to leave. Soon after my husband went back to the exam room, they called me back to listen to the the young Asian woman doctor to explain that my husband desperately needed dentures, implants or a combination of both. She explained how simple and quick it was and he was excited to have the procedure. I explained we must consider cost and how we would afford it without going into significant debt.

We were sent to a sales person (a.k.a financial consultant) and when all was said the cost would be between 9K and 12K. I knew this was not something we could consider soon after receiving some advice from the Holy Spirit to wait, and not let the woman pull me into her financial plan for us. So finally we went back to get the extraction done and got out of there.

On the way home, I shared with my husband the thoughts of consideration which were given me as to what God’s plan for us was in this situation: “Ronny,” I said, “This was only one dentist and a ‘chain store’ at that. We achieved the goal to get you out of pain. We now can think about a permanent plan for your dental health when we see another dentist not looking to see how deep our wallets are.” With time on our side God will guide us, and you never know what else could happen especially at Christmas time.” A great sense of peace came over me and that anxiety never took root (pardon the pun). He agreed it was right.

The “especially at Christmas time”, happened Tuesday when I was doing laundry and the washer stopped once it filled with water. It seemed to be a power problem at first. I checked the breaker and that was not it. I plugged in the steam mop and it was getting electricity so I knew that was not it. I knew I had to get the clothes and water out, to be able to pull the washer out. Then I could take the back off and see if there were wires that might have come loose.

I got the fountain pump from the ducks pond and drained out the water. While waiting for it to finish, I looked online for the best deal on a washer. Anxiety began creeping in as I was doing that. I found the best deal at Don’s TV and appliances on a Maytag (my favorite brand). I called to see if they had it in stock and they did. Then I realized I was moving very fast because I hadn’t even checked to see if there were loose wires.

Then I slowed down. I got the pump out of the washer. I said a prayer, finally, “God bless my efforts toward fixing this problem.” And it was if He told me, “Go ahead and plug it in again.” I did and it started filling up again when I restarted it. I ran three loads last night.

Gilda Radner was always my favorite comedienne. When she was dying of ovarian cancer she used her favorite saying from one of her characters, Rosanne Rosanna Dana, “It is always something” as the title. I think Gilda also knew the answer to those ‘always somethings.’ I think she knew God is always there in times of trouble when we need him. She died very soon after her book was published. We could use another Gilda these days to keep reminding us.

Phyllis Weeks Rogers