God With Us

"The LORD your God is with you,
 He is mighty to save.
 He will take great delight in you,
 He will quiet you with His love,
 He will rejoice over you with singing."
                             Zephaniah 3:17


As I read the devotion from Jesus Calling every morning, I am still amazed how often the Lord speaks directly to me, especially from the Scriptures referenced.  Last Thursday this verse from Zephaniah offered such reassurance for the day ahead--"The LORD your God is with you" became my litany for the day.  You see, the boys and I had an appointment scheduled that afternoon with Dr. Michael Waldrum, CEO of UAB hospital.  I had requested this meeting to discuss a letter I had sent to Dr. Waldrum the week before--a lengthy letter that detailed Jim's care at UAB.


For several days I had prayed about what outcome from the meeting would offer peace.  God revealed two things that I needed to hear: an apology for and acknowledgment of the missed diagnoses (yes, plural) and assurance that the problems would be addressed with various physicians.  Although I am generally non-confrontational and not even very assertive, I felt compelled to voice my grievances. Those last few weeks Jim suffered so needlessly, and I didn't want another family to have to endure the helplessness that we all had felt.  Austin, Caleb, and Hunter expressed their desire to go with me and share their hearts as well. We were thankful that Caleb's spring break and Austin's off-week during internship coincided. God's timing is always perfect.


Armed with that powerful verse reminding us that the Lord was with us, the four of us prayed together before we got on the elevator at the hospital.  The essence of our prayer--that God would guide our words, guard our hearts, and give us peace upon leaving.  How faithful is our Father!  Dr. Waldrum greeted us and introduced us to two other doctors that would be meeting with us: Dr. Boudreaux (chief of staff) and Dr. Taylor who oversees quality control.  Although we met with these men for over an hour, within the first five minutes I had heard the two things I specifically needed to hear.  "We are so sorry we obviously failed you," and "Please may we use your letter and your family's name as we teach and better educate our staff."  Clearly Dr. Waldrum had reviewed and examined Jim's case closely, especially the 3 ER visits.  Each of us had an opportunity to share, and the Lord was indeed with us--no emotional outbursts on our part and no defensive remarks on theirs.  They assumed full responsibility for the errors in judgment.  Dr. Waldrum ended our meeting with a request for a family photo to help put faces to our story for his staff.  I told him that was why we were there--to put faces to the words in my letter.  Real people with real pain seeking to effect change. 


I left the hospital feeling a bit lighter--a burden that I had been carrying for some time (since late December) lifted.  As I shared in this excerpt from the letter, honoring Jim was the reason we simply had to be a voice for the next family:  


 "My husband was known around this community for his kindness and genuine desire to help others—very often strangers.  It is on his behalf that my boys and I were prompted to share these things with you—in hopes of helping someone whom we don’t even know.  We are certain that this is what he would have done."


As the boys and I had discussed ahead of time, this meeting would not change our present.  However, it might change someone else's future.  This will continue to be our prayer--that these doctors will use Jim's story to teach others and ultimately make them better, wiser, and more compassionate physicians.  And so Jim's legacy will continue in yet another venue...


What powerful words, "The LORD your God is with you."  May we never forget that truth no matter what lies ahead. How blessed we are to serve a God who never leaves us nor forsakes us!