The Advocate

If you've read any of my blogging, you know the last few years have been marked with health insurance issues. One of the most awesome things God ever did was give me a word that one claim (thousands of dollars) would end up in total and complete victory. That's another story that indeed in His way lead to the very thing He promised.

But the story didn't end there like I hoped. Ever since we get unusual claims that make no sense. They aren't as staggering as that first claim, but it rocks me to the core none the less. I've written before that my fear over receiving mail from insurance is so strong, I equate it to my personal kryptonite.

When I was recovering from surgery, I received a piece of mail, a bill, from a local hospital. It was a bill dated 10/2008 from a service back in 6/06. Our employer doesn't even use that insurance anymore, so I figured great, here we go again.

For awhile we did. Trying to trace the bill it appeared the insurance reversed their payment, and the hospital decided someone has to pay it, it might as well be me.

What I'm sure they didn't count on was me not giving in without a fight. Sure I had fear, a lot of it, but I called the insurance company we used to have. They had no idea what was going on so they called for a review. They were nice enough to keep in touch with me to let me know they still could not track where they took back any payment. Still, they kept investigating.

I did my part by calling the hospital to let them know where things stood. A couple weeks ago I called with a specific name, department, phone number and extension of the person working with me in case the hospital wanted proof it was truly under investigation. The person on the phone was extremely rude. She wouldn't even take any information, instead telling me to pay up now or go to collections.

Um...no.

I was scared and shaking but I said sorry, I've been screwed by claims before and I'm not handing over my checkbook until I know it's legitimate. She relented and told me to call back later.

Oh did I.

But first, I called the insurance and asked for the person who has been working with me. She was on another call but the girl who answered the phone asked if she could help? What? Another person wants to help me? I asked if it was possible for someone to call the hospital and assure them they are reviewing the claim.

She did me one better. She called the hospital, created a conference call, and pretty much made a poor guy who happened to answer the phone on behalf of the hospital billing department sweat bullets.

By the end of the call she got him to admit he didn't even have proof that the insurance ever took back payment. If that's the case, there is no need to even generate a bill. He promised he'd look for that proof and fax it right to her.

I thanked her over and over for being my advocate. She stood in the gap for me and pleaded my case.

I don't have the end of the story, at least I don't think so. The poor guy left me a message regarding the fax. I never requested the fax, insurance did. When I tried to call with the local number he gave (I believe the hospital consults out) it was a wrong number. When I tried to call the out of state number he originally called on, it just rang and rang.

I'll keep pursuing it but my gut (which I'm believing is the Holy Spirit) is this bill was dismissed. My advocate assured me during the conference call she was sure this event would be resolved immediately. I'm believing with her.

But that lady, no matter what happens, showed me in the flesh what an advocate can do. Just think about Jesus. He stands in the gap for us and pleads our case in front of Our Heavenly Father. I can't put in words how I felt knowing she was for me and on my side.

So why do we drag our feet when it comes to trusting the best Advocate of all?

March 20-27 is Five Minutes For Mom's Ultimate Blog Party 09. This is a great way for women bloggers to connect and meet new cyber friends. There are always a ton of great giveaways and The Narrow Gate Invites and The Surrendered Scribe both are going to be in on the party.
This site will be giving away one copy of Women of Passions:Ordinary Women Serving an Extraordinary God by Jeanice McDade and Janet Ross.

Both Maria and I have works included in this book. It's a wonderful book with many stories, poems and testimonies by women you may know in the blogging world. As a reader I have to tell you I was blown away by the depth the women shared. They opened a curtain up of their lives and totally let the reader in. The book blessed me and we are excited to give it away.
So stay tuned and let folks know about the Ultimate Blog Party. It's an awesome event!

Julie Arduini is a wife, mom and surrendering writer. Her personal blog, The Surrendered Scribe, shows her writing resume. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she is also a columnist with Take Root and Write. She has a tentative story to contribute to the Jeanette Littleton book, GodSightings. Her verse for 2009 is Deuteronomy 11:11-12. She's a new columnist with the daily online newspaper, The Cypress Times.

Breaking Free

What I love about blogging different places throughout cyberspace is each place gives me a different voice, but they all are a part of me. I enjoy being humorous at Take Root and Write or the Surrendered Scribe, and it's encouraging when I can share my mom/reader/writer heart over at the Christian Writers Forum blog. Here, I tend to be the deep thinker, which definitely is a big part of who I am. When you add it all together, I'm quite the diverse package. The common thread, I hope, is that I'm always authentic.

Sunday I participated in a meme about 8 Random Things. I blended the silly with the serious, and I received a lot of feedback on my last random thing. I have a feeling I hit a chord of sorts, and I'll share it here. I'll end the post by sharing the Psalm I read the same day. Amazing how God works. It's like He knows what I'm feeling and what I need! (I'm grinning with sarcasm).

Here is the last random thing:

I finally verbalized even though it's been deep in my spirit for
months that I don't trust God (now, this time) because every time I do,
something goes horribly wrong with our health and/or insurance. This year, it
took til the first week of January for us to have a child ER visit AND to learn
that our insurance was so screwed up they had to give us all new insurance with
a retroactive start date. However it was all new in how it worked, so to pay the
co pays, it was taken off our med card that we could not adjust after we agreed
on the amount. We even added extra to cover surprises. We paid for braces and
had the extra, until the new insurance. We have been paying out of pocket since
June. I realize many people have no insurance at all and I grieve over that. Yet
I'm sharing a random thing you need to know. Would you pray for me to trust God
once and for all?

It was hard as "The Surrendered Scribe" to not only admit I don't trust God, but get specific about why. My husband is very good about pointing out the 99 things going right in our lives. Me? I zoom in on that one thing that went far out of my comfort zone. I honestly believe the health issues I deal with are a direct result from working myself crazy a couple years ago taking care of our daughter and the insurance battles. To realize right off the bat in 2008 that we needed not only completely new insurance, but the same name as the insurance we battled with, I closed my spirit big time. With the work fund for co pays tapped out, and then in June our med card tapped out, and still have out of pocket expenses to pay because the deductible isn't met, well I haven't handled this with joy and thanksgiving. Not even close.

What I keep stewing about is that we even put extra last fall on the med card for the unexpected. We knew we were paying for braces, we knew some of our medicines and appointments. But the new insurance and the way it did things with the deductible, we had no idea last fall. God did, but all this year, it hasn't been good enough for me.

To admit that in that random thing freed me and I can picture God pumping His fist saying, yes! Finally! The enemy is losing his grip on me because I'm finally speaking the truth instead of stewing. Things are not as bad as a couple years back, and that ended in such a miraculous fashion. We know now what to do next year. It will work out.

But my real name needs to be the surrendering scribe because I haven't mastered anything on my journey with the Lord. Yet He's so gracious and good. I've been reading the Bible online with the year program in a new to me translation (link to that is on the right of this blog) and here was my reading for Sunday out of Psalm 77.

1.
I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
2.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.
3.
I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. "Selah"
4.
You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.
5.
I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
6.
I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired:
7.
"Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
8.
Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
9.
Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" "Selah"
10.
Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High."
11.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12.
I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
13.
Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?
14.
You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.
15.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. "Selah"
16.
The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed.
17.
The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth.
18.
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.
19.
Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.
20.
You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

I love it. Just like me, the Psalm starts out melancholy and ends with hope.

I pray His message encourages you today, too.