Underdog....where are you?

I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon of "causes". In my flesh, I'm one of the more cynical and hardened souls you will encounter. Part of my transformation from flesh to Christianity, has been a softening of my heart towards others, specifically those that cannot fight their own battles effectively. This is the Holy Spirit, trust me on this!

Over the past weeks 'causes' have bombarded my heart. I'm sure it's the enemy trying to overwhelm my "transformed heart" with defeating thoughts and feelings of desperation. That overwhelming sense that nothing I do will matter anyway, it's just a drop of water in a VERY LARGE ocean.

I have heard and witnessed tales of horror in our public schools. I, with every other driving American, have experienced gas cost increases and in-flux pricing while the oil companies net the largest profits in history. I have experienced road rage as I jockey for position during for my morning commute to and from work each day. I have watched, through shielded eyes, the poverty that sweeps our nation and starvation that riddles our children each night. I have seen acts of abuse against childhood and our very freedom. I have seen personal wars waged against homosexuality in the name of God, based in prejudice and lack of knowledge. I continue to hear of atrocities in other countries against Christians. I, myself, have experienced a level of oppression as a women in the southwest. The cause that has finally pierced my heart is our current healthcare situation.

HIPAA laws, the newest 'trend' in healthcare, were SUPPOSEDLY developed to further protect patient information and provide a sense of security with regards to diagnoses prejudice. Perhaps due to ignorance and a real "fear" of retribution, healthcare providers have gone "over the top" with these laws to protect themselves, which ultimately could end up harming a patient. This is not the worst of it. Recently, a dear friend from my church has faced a healthcare crisis with her own daughter following a near fatal car accident. Initially, she struggled to just gain information from the multiple member trauma team due to her "adopted mother" status and this child's age of 18.

Now, an even MORE appalling truth has been uncovered. The patient is semi-conscious, PRAISE GOD, but unable to verbally communicate, and has fallen out of her hospital bed several times. The mother was informed that it is the families responsibility to provide 24/7 coverage for this patient. This is the part that appalls me!

We pay more and more and more and more for insurance coverage, yet the services covered and provided are fewer and fewer and fewer and fewer. Are we so numbed as a nation, that we will continue to watch healthcare spiral out of control until we are immediately affected by a tragedy and watch the compromising of care occur firsthand? I hope NOT!

In the midst of our deepest tragedies, we are seeking a helper. We are seeking someone with KNOWLEDGE and compassion and a heart to heal. In my experience, there is only one who fits this definition. He is God. He is our Father. He is our Healer. He is the Great Physician. He is our creator!

So HOW does God do this. Well, one way...is through us. He uses us as His conduit. We see this throughout the New Testament, but primarily in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. God has enabled us all, through gifts, to HELP one another, to walk as the Body of Christ. We are NOT to turn a blind eye to the atrocities around us. We are NOT to judge one another and tear one another down for our differences. We ARE to walk as a body and talk as a body and be ONE as a body.

What am I going to do? Well, initially I am going to email everyone I know to try to form an alliance of people, all ages, that are willing to give even one hour a week to go and sit with someone that is sick, to go and provide this much needed assistance to others that are struggling to deal with tragedy, illness and staying afloat financially. Above that, I am going to write my congressman. I am going to request information from insurance companies about this compromised care. I will petition, if necessary, our local government to at least use some of my tax dollars to "investigate" this problem. My cynical self is already reprimanding me for caring. Satan is already reminding me that I will get some "automated" response and not to bother with it. But, GOD is reassuring me, as tears run down my face, that He will hold my hand through this and be my greatest champion! I'm not asking you to take on any causes in this diatribe...I am asking you to feel SOMETHING and for many of us, we will only feel something once God has taken up residence within our hearts.