As I was checking out
with one of the receptionists the woman and her husband were reviewing a
treatment plan near me. Apparently our dentist said he could do
their child's dental work right then. It appeared this was their first
time there. The front desk had printed up the paperwork for them and
went over fees. The man had zoned out. His wife yelled at him, "Are you
paying attention?! Are you listening? This is important!" It was me staring at them this time. I noticed he was totally not paying attention. He looked as if he was in a
trance. He said he was listening but that it didn't matter because they
couldn't afford it anyway. He curtly told the front desk they couldn't do it
and he told his wife they needed to leave. The mom desperately persisted, "The infection is almost to the tooth pulp!" He again insisted that
they didn't have the money. Then they began to argue. It got louder and
louder. They loudly discussed credit options but he quickly shut those
down for various reasons. Everything got awkward. The other receptionist who
was scheduling a handful of future appointments for me didn't
pause whatsoever. She talked loudly over them. I couldn't focus at all. I felt myself getting warm and flushed. My heart started to race. A voice
inside me told me to do something.
Ricky had told me
to watch what I spent this month. We are so tight this month. We will be
pretty tight for the next few months. We replaced our central air and
heat this spring. Our passenger van needed a new transmission. Ricky
needed a new vehicle shortly thereafter. He bought a gem of a used 1995 truck
with hardly any miles on it. (We always buy used.) We have five kids enrolled in gymnastics (one is in
competitive gymnastics). I am having a little trouble putting gas in
my van this month because we are SO busy and my van is fairly expensive to
drive. We have six kid birthdays in three
months. Charlotte just started college. (Though she pays that, she still lives
at home and we help her with incidentals and medical/dental of course.) We have a clogged main line to our septic tank. (I
just discovered that this morning!!) I have no idea what it will cost or
what the real issue is. But one thing I do know: this month, next
month, and the month after, I know for pretty much certain that our kids
will all have fixed teeth and food on the table. They will probably
still go to gymnastics unless something really, really bad happens, and then toward the end of this year they will wake
up to presents under the Christmas tree.
God, we are so blessed. Seriously.
"Do
something, it will be okay" is what I kept hearing in my head. I walked over to them and said I'd pay for
it. I had previously overheard it probably was around $200.00. I asked
the front desk how much it was total. The mom dropped her jaw and
quickly said, "Thank you!" She really sounded relieved. The dad was quiet for a moment and then said thank you while introducing himself to me. I suddenly felt like I was a
guardian angel. Like God spoke to me to help them. Something told me deep down everything would work out. The amount scared me a little, $230.00. I
said it was fine. I knew I'd figure something out. I knew Ricky would understand. The man then said he
could pay half of the cost and that was fair to me because he could pay that much. This
was an amazing gesture. He did the right thing to meet me halfway. I was
so relieved. Had it been seven months ago I would have insisted I just
help them with the full amount. Right now though we're a little tight, but certainly not 'we can't
fix our child's teeth' tight.
We split the bill.
I believe guardian angels can be beings on Earth. We all hold the power to watch over people, change lives, and bless people.
