07.09.08 Remembering God’s Presence

You’ve heard this before but here it is again - with an ending this time.  A while back a friend’s father-in-law was beaten and robbed, left with a fractured eye socket and broken hand.  He didn’t have insurance and my friend and I didn’t have enough cash between us to pay for treatment either.

The church I attended at the time wasn’t able to help us out and I didn’t want to turn to the State of Tennessee on account of having already shot my mouth off around here about how the Church, not the State, is charged with the task of meeting the needs of our friends and neighbors.

I called the church again and again, talking to a different person each time, and finally found an assistant - and we all know assistants really run the world anyway don’t we? - who was willing to help.  I asked her if she could find an opthamologist and an orthopaedic surgeon in our church’s database and after a few clicks of the mouse she read me the names and numbers of a couple aptly-skilled church members. 

I called the doctors and explained the situation. They both cheerfully (seriously, they seemed excited about this) agreed to see my friend’s father-in-law and didn’t charge me a dime.

Now, here’s the ending I promised.  This weekend I was toting a hundred pound keyboard (in a flight case) up thirteen - count ‘em - stairs and messed up my elbow - on my strummin’ arm.  Concerned that I might do further damage gigging and exercising this week, I went to see a joint specialist yesterday - the orthopaedic surgeons who so cheerfully cared for my friend’s father-in-law. 

[My elbow will be fine.  I tore a little muscle from the bone and I just need to rest it, they said.  And that’s not as serious as it sounds, really.]

Better than getting a prognosis was being able to pay a small sum back to a medical practice that made good on my promise to a friend, that backed up my rhetoric with real live merciful action.

I spoke this weekend about the things God told Joshua to remember while in battle across Canaan.  One of those was remember God’s presence.  Remember God is present, fully, everywhere.  Nothing is secular.  Everything is sacred, purposed, potentially powerful.  What impresses me most about these doctors is that they have lived this for me and my friend.  They behaved as if they believe their work is sacred, their education is part of divine plan, their skills and time are not their own, as if their career and calling are one.  And God is present in and through them.

The doctors at Franklin Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine are proof to me that the needs of our communities can be better served by the Church (Christian individuals) than the State any day.  I just wanted to say a long overdue thanks to them for fixing my friend’s father-in-law (and me) and for practicing what I preach.  Thank you.

If you’re in the Nashville area and you’ve got something broken or busted, I highly recommend the Cook brothers and the rest of their staff.