Living Outside the Lines: He Moves in Mysterious Ways

By, Becky J Miller

“Why do bad things happen?” “Why does a good God allow people to endure pain and hardship?”  “Why do innocent children suffer?”  “Why is there poverty and disease?”  Such are the questions that often run through our minds.  We can exhaust ourselves looking for answers that do not exist.  Why not focus instead on what we do know?  And what I do know is that no matter what trials I face; there is a God who loves me and is walking alongside me.

This morning I was thinking about seven year old Desiree, a vibrant little girl in our church who was recently hospitalized with appendicitis.  Desiree loves to dance, has a beautiful smile, just got her first bicycle and recently enrolled in tap and ballet classes.  Desiree is innocent of any wrongdoing.  She did nothing to deserve the trial that has befallen her, and if I dwell on the injustice of it all my tears of compassion will likely turn to anger.  My anger cannot heal her nor can it offer comfort to her pain-stricken family.

As “Rebecca the Righteous” was about to go off on a tangent, I caught sight of the faded scar on my lower right abdomen and was reminded of my own experience with appendicitis and the mysterious ways in which God worked to see me through that battle.

It was 2001; my husband had just begun a new job and had not been employed long enough to have benefits.  My employer did not offer health insurance, so we were completely without coverage.  I’d been ill with flu-like symptoms for almost a week but could not afford to pay for an office visit completely out of pocket.  Generous friends came to rescue providing the funds so I could go see a doctor.  Here is where things begin to get interesting; keep reading and you’ll see what I mean.

Normally the appendix sits in the lower right abdomen, mine was housed behind my colon, making appendicitis much more difficult to detect.  Despite my elevated temperature, abdominal cramps and nausea, the doctor missed the warning signs and I was misdiagnosed with some other malady, one I cannot exactly recall.

One week elapsed without any improvement in my condition so I returned to the doctor demanding they run some other tests.  Like the flipping of a switch, the atmosphere of that office changed immediately as they compared my white cell counts from the week before to the counts from that day.  The results were off the charts; I was instructed to go immediately to the emergency room.

Remember I said my husband had just started a new job?  He was coaching junior high football, and right of the middle of practice I showed up at the field to give him the news.  He immediately dropped everything and we took off for the ER.  Arriving at the hospital, I was left suffering in the waiting room, until miraculously the on call radiologist, a friend of ours, walked through, saw my discomfort, realized what was likely wrong, and instantly got the ER staff moving on my behalf.

An MRI confirmed our friend’s suspicion, my appendix had ruptured; I was admitted, connected to intravenous antibiotics and scheduled for emergency surgery the following morning.  Following the surgery I asked the doctor if I could see my appendix, but there was nothing left.  He responded, “In my twenty-plus years as a doctor, I have never seen a worse case. The appendix literally exploded, there was nothing left.  The fact that your appendix was located behind the colon and not in the normal spot literally saved your life, it kept all the toxins from infiltrating the blood stream and killing you.”

According the healthline.com my doctor was absolutely correct; a ruptured appendix is a life-threatening situation as it releases dangerous bacteria into the abdomen.  Mine had probably ruptured at least a week before my emergency room visit.  So, although some may ask why it happened to begin with, I do not.  Instead, I look at the beauty of creation, and am grateful for a God who saw into the future and made my body just a little different from everyone else’s so that my life would be spared.

The story does not end there.   Remember how we did not have health insurance?  My hospital bill exceeded $20,000.  We had no choice but to begin making monthly payments.  To this day I cannot explain why or how, but a few months later we received a final bill reflecting zero dollars due, my bill had been completely forgiven!  Once again, God had a plan.  The situation caught us completely unaware, but my God who never sleeps nor slumbers was not surprised.

Now, I do realize not everyone shares my faith and that is okay, but there is no denying the facts; I was deathly ill and deeply in debt because of it.  Now I am well and my bill paid in full. Call it what you will, but this girl’s faith is not shaken because of the trials, instead it continues to grow stronger.

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller

“Warrior Princess”