When God shows up...

I sat in the corner watching the doctors and nurses buzz around the small periodontist room as they examined Destiny and prepared her for oral surgery. 

It's 2020, COVID-19 cases have nearly reached 1M in Texas. Everywhere people wear masks. Every business has a health protocol sign about social distancing, proper hand hygiene, and face coverings...it's the year of disconnect, isolation, and hiding. 

However, there are people who continue to foster meaningful connection, love for a neighbor, and face to face relationship (even if the lower half of the face must remain covered). And the team in that periodontist room were more than connection, love, and relationship...they were a miracle.  

Destiny is a survivor of human trafficking. (If you want to learn more about her story and how we got connected, go here: https://resolvemagazine.org/2020/02/24/raising-goats-chickens-and-compassion/). She grew up impoverished and with limited access to dental care. When she was fourteen years old, she was kidnapped and driven to another state, locked in a home with other girls, and forced into prostitution. During the time of her trafficking, she received neither dental nor medical attention. If anyone ever wonders why we refer to these people as "survivors" it's because against all odds, they survived. 

Destiny didn't just survive lack of medical care, she survived countless rapes, violent abuse, and drug addiction. She was struck in the mouth a number of times, thrown around, and left for dead...but she didn't die. She survived. 

It's been a long road and after nearly a decade since her kidnappers/traffickers were incarcerated, Destiny continues to make strides toward full recovery and restoration.

As a result of the physical trauma done to her, Destiny had several broken teeth. Over the years, the broken teeth began to decay, causing constant pain. Her past trauma remained her present trauma: broken, decayed, diseased...never escaping the evil done to her. 

Over the years I have known Destiny, she routinely got abscesses in her mouth, particularly where bits of her broken and decayed teeth began to crumble off, exposing the root. She would manage to find a dentist to prescribe antibiotics, ridding her mouth of infection, but not addressing the "root" of the problem (a little dental joke, for you). In reality, she just couldn't afford to fix her mouth.  

Recently, Destiny called and asked me to accompany her to a dentist she found who was offering free exams. She had another abscess and was very anxious about another exam. Furthermore, she knew this dentist would outline (yet another) treatment plan she wouldn't be able to pay for. After the exam, I was called to join her in the billing office. Without going into details or her history, I explained that Destiny was unable to start this plan due to financial hardship. And even if she had the finances, getting to the office for the dozens of visits outlined over a 2 year time period was a whole other challenge. She doesn't have a vehicle, public transit is limited, and I live over an hour away...The staff was polite and gave her brochures for Care Credit and dental insurance, trying their best to convince us dental restoration was possible for only $10,000-$20,000... 

We both left feeling discouraged: her mouth was a hot mess and there was no way to cover all the expenses.   

We sat for a while outside her apartment, praying and talking about how to save money for the dental work. I encouraged her to at least try to get the dental insurance and apply for Care Credit (Destiny applied for dental insurance and credit but was denied both). I began making calls, searching for other dentists/periodontists to at least get a second opinion. Additionally, I figured if we DID save the money for all this, I wanted it to be spent paying a doctor I trust/like.

I shared about Destiny's dental project with a few people, asking for prayer and brainstorming ways to raise money faster. One of my staff had gone on a dental mission trip a few years ago and reached out to the pastor who gathered the docs to go. A few weeks later, she connected me with a periodontist, Dr. W, who agreed to review Destiny's case. 

On a Friday, I had a phone conversation with Dr. W. His schedule was full, but he agreed to see Destiny on the following Monday after his regular business hours. After several x-rays and a thorough exam, he pulled me aside and said,

"Destiny's mouth isn't all bad...yes she has broken teeth and decay, but I can tell she is taking very good care of her mouth. Because I see the evidence of her doing excellent teeth care at home, I am going to do these procedures..."

I began to explain how we planned to pay for the surgery, implants, bone grafts, crowns, fillings, cleaning etc.... But Dr. W said, "Let me see what I can do..." and he turned to converse with his office assistants.

Dr. W was booked out past Thanksgiving for oral surgery (He is a prominent periodontist in the area). Glancing back at us, he said, "We normally do surgery in the morning...but I all ready asked my staff and they are willing to stay late...can you come in this Wednesday afternoon? Also, I am going to give Destiny my services...all that will be left is maybe the cost of materials..."

My brain operates like a train: once I start riding a thought, if something changes the route or causes the train to come to a screeching halt (or wreck) I take time to regather my wits... This gift from Dr. W was a generous collapsed bridge: My train was trackin', calculating the trajectory of this dental project, when all of the sudden, what I planned to be was no more...like the track vanished and all the energy behind the plan fell into some abyss...As I watched the train careen and disappear, I felt totally incapable of expressing my gratitude. I was overwhelmed, abundantly beyond demolished by this generosity.  

We set the time and I drove Destiny back home. Neither of us could believe what was happening. 

Wednesday afternoon, we arrived at Dr. W's office for surgery. He had reached out to a dentist friend, Dr. Mary Kate Peters, who came over for a dental exam for Destiny's teeth that needed fillings. She was extremely kind. Later, Destiny told me, "I have never met a doctor as nice as her...she was so kind and she talked to me so nice." Dr. Peters, like Dr. W, wanted to gift Destiny dental care. Again, gratitude for their generosity overwhelmed me...

Then more overwhelmedness (no it's not a word but it should be): Nobel Biocare implant company donated $3500 of materials for Destiny's dental reconstruction. Then CRN Dental Lab donated about $3000 of material...

And then, when I picked up her post-op prescriptions I handed the pharmacist my card to pay, but she said, "Ma'am, these are all ready paid for..." 

The day after surgery, I called Destiny to see how she felt and remind her to take her medicine. She answered the phone, crying. I asked if she was in a lot of pain. "No...they sent me flowers...Dr. W and his staff sent me flowers...no one has ever sent me flowers..."

And then I could finally respond to my train crashing into oblivion: I joy cried with Destiny and we thanked God for provision and care. Because that is all you can do when God shows up.