It's a no brainer that a cancer diagnosis or other medical diagnosis can be costly. In a quick google research I found that 34% of all cancer patient families go into medical debt during treatment. With 3-5% of those having to file for bankruptcy.
Within days of finding out Bill's diagnosis my brain immediately went into overdrive anxious thoughts of money, cost, bills etc. So much in fact that I had my friends help me research our insurance to see about deductibles etc.... To say I was worried was an understatement.
Bill applied and will be receiving FMLA during his treatment. So on days he misses work for treatments or sickness related to his cancer he will get around 70% of pay. Why not take sick time? Because FMLA also protects his job. Which although we aren't worried about his job, it is good to have that federal mandated job protection. I do not qualify for FMLA because I do not work enough hours during the year to qualify. So anytime I take off will have to be my own sick time. I exhausted all my sick time in June when I missed the whole month from work. I will get 12 days Sept 1st and will have to manage those carefully.
Bill and I have begun to make some financial decisions. Like taking his car off insurance as he will not be commuting to work. Still trusting in God's provision but trying to be good stewards of our finances. Our friends wanting to help did set up a Go Fund Me for us for some help.
But this post is about how God is Providing in very real & tangible ways.
Our son is 14, he has grown so much in the past year. He's hitting his stride and his growth dreams are finally coming to fruition. The downside to this is he needed a whole new wardrobe - new shoes, jeans and shirts. Bill realizing this, knew this meant new hockey gear too. We had just bought new gear & skates last year when he switched hockey associations from Everett (green/black) to Kraken (navy blue/white). And when we had him try on his gear last week it was confirmed he needed all new shin guards, elbow pads and quickly would need new skates. His foot size would mean adult size skates = $$.
One thing about Bill is he is thrifty. Always has been! He will search for a good deal scouring used gear sites, shopping local used sports stores and gear swaps at the rink. You get the idea. He almost always finds a good deal. So his search began.
Last night - While out with a buddy (a hockey coach himself) Bill was talking about how much Micah had grown, how he now needed all new gear including pads & skates asap. His friend had just been given bags of gear by a family whose son had gone off to college. They told him to donate to a kid in need, his own kids or the rink of his choice. He looked at Bill and said "let's go back to my house and you can look through the bags. If you find anything that will work for Micah you can have it". Imagine Bill's surprise to find not only new shin guards but also skates in Micah's new size. Not only the correct size but BRAND new, never worn or baked!
Another God moment - last year when Micah got new skates Bill had found a deal on extra set of high end blades. (in hockey having an extra set is ideal) But when the blades arrived they didn't fit the skates Micah had. Since they were non-refundable Bill couldn't return them. He put them away thinking he'd re-sell them or gift them but never got around to it. He pulled them out and would you believe they fit the new skates!!! What the What?!
With tears in his eyes Bill told all of our children "Don't you Ever doubt God's provision!"
God's provision is perfect! His provision Always comes on time.
As Bill's aunt reminded us "We must never forget that Our God cares about the small things as well as the big things in both good times as well as difficult." Amen!!
