The Doctor's Appointment

Doctor appointments have become a bad habit with us these days and believe me, they are NOT my favorite thing to do. I've read about people who take a purse full of Gospel tracts with them when they are undergoing series of treatments or are on a course of follow-up appointments, and share the love of Jesus both in smile and word. They are such a testimony to the love of God and the peace that only God can give in grave circumstances. I envy such people. I'm certainly not one of them. I am in endurance mode from the moment I leave the house. My face and words do not reflect perfect peace - more of a "I can't wait to get this over with" look. (I hope God understands my inability to be a medical witness.) Anyway, today was supposed to be a sort of conclusive appointment. You know, the kind when all the various specialists have completed their investigations, written their reports, faxed them appropriately, discussed the case thoroughly and come to a united conclusion. I must admit I had my doubts on the drive up. How many times in the past have we walked into a doctor's office to discuss a scan, some bloodwork or other test, only to have the doctors say, "I haven't seen any reports on that yet." What!? Doctor so-and-so assured us he would have that sent over pronto! And so it goes....Anyway, my doubts were confirmed when the doctor walked into the room this morning and announced a conclusion he had gleaned from another specialist that was flat out opposite of what we had been told! This doctor had not seen any reports, read any conclusions, seen the MRI or ultra-sound test results and seemed almost clueless. AAAGGGHHH!!! He changed his mind a couple of times as to his recommendations and called in another doctor in the office to take a look see and give an opinion. Goodness sakes! I've concluded that doctors are overloaded with sick people. It must be too hard to keep everything straight. I think Mr. Doctor's cell phone rang at least five times while he was with us. He only got into a conversation once; the other times he checked to see who it was, mumbled something about calling them back and got back to us.

Are we supposed to entrust our lives into the care of people who are flawed?! Doctors who are overloaded and who can't possibly handle all of the details involved in each patient's care? Thanks goodness, we are not! We must trust God with our lives. He is the Great Physician. Doctor Jesus doesn't forget or make mistakes. We have cried out to Him afresh tonight to be our Deliverer, Savior, Healer, Helper, Strength. Oh, how we need him.