Sometimes the things that inspire me come as a surprise. Sometimes the biggest blessings are things that I often overlook and take for granted, things which don't give me even a moment of pause. This struck me as I was making a quick trip to the pharmacy the other day.
I stopped in to pick up my prescription, like I have many times before. And, just as they do every time I pick it up, the pharmacist paused when she looked at the label. "You do realize this medicine costs $128, right?" I smiled and said yes, and thank God I have good insurance. I grabbed the bag and walked right out to go home.
And then it struck me - I have good insurance. It's a thing I overlook all the time, but insurance has saved Nathan and me from stress and anxiety over money many times. When I had surgery two years ago, I had good insurance and didn't pay a dime. A surgery that costs over $16,000 (not including doctor's visits, MRIs, physical therapy, and all the medicine) actually cost me nothing more. Now, years later, medicine that should cost $130 each month is something I can pick up and walk away with, my wallet none the worse for wear.
This blog really isn't about insurance, or even money or health at all. Instead, it's about those moments that give us pause. The times when we realize we should bear a bigger burden and a higher price for something in our lives - and yet we don't. The moments when we think about what could've been, but know that something much better came out of it.
I'm thinking not just of my insurance, but a friend who has been struggling with infertility, only to find out she was spared from a potentially catastrophic event - for her and any baby - by not getting pregnant before now. I'm thinking of the time when we lived overseas and my 6-month old baby sister was on the verge of dying from kidney failure and pneumonia, only for an out-of-date medication to work just in the nick of time.
Don't miss the things, both large and small, that should give us pause and cause us to be thankful for what we avoided and what could've been. Find the small things that aren't so small, cling to them, and live a life of gratitude. Who knows? You may just end up extremely grateful for something as 'small' as good health insurance.
