My youngest sister has been very sick for the past six days. She went in for surgery and, at the very beginning, was found to have a severe infection. Doctors spent the next 8 hours removing infected scar tissue from her abdominal cavity.
What this makes me feel is highly frustrated. Ever since I took a sociology class last year, I have become very aware of social stratification. Social stratification is how society is structured or divided into hierarchy layers; the rich, the poor, ethnicity, race.
Some people have better insurance than others. If you’re lucky, your workplace provides decent health coverage. If you’ve been in the military and retired, Tricare offers better health coverage than the average poor person can get at a very affordable rate. The point is very few people have healthcare that will get them the meds and treatments they need.
My sister’s health has been an issue for years. The medical care that she gets with her coverage is pretty damned shitty. She has been in pain for a very long time, and doctors did nothing to find the problem. Had she not finally gone into surgery at the end of last week, I fear she could have died. And that pisses me off.

Fortunately, we have a God who looks out for us when we pray. It is still frustrating, though. There is a song I recently started listening to called “Hell” by Jordan Max. There is nothing to it. The production is very sparse. There are no great vocals in the song. It’s more like an undeveloped musical idea. But it haunts your mind and heart. Part of the chorus says,
Remember why we’re here
Find love, hurry, disappear
Today, not tomorrow
Remember why we’re here
Find love, worry, disappear
Today, not tomorrow.
What can I say? The song speaks to me. I don’t mean to sound like I’m despairing. But this life can be battering and cruel. I am so pissed about the inequalities, discrimination, and hatred. Sometimes I wonder why we’re here. What if the reason is as simple as the song’s chorus says? Remember why we’re here, find love (before we disappear). Today, not tomorrow. That’s what I think the lyrics mean or what they should say.
There is nothing more important in this life than love. I don’t mean physical attraction or lust, real love. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Jesus). It is forgiving one another and treating one another with kindness. A world where getting what you need is not so damned complicated—being able to get proper medical care when you need it. Love ensures these needs are available for all people.

If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, love somebody. Help someone. Show some kindness to your If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, love somebody. Help someone. Show some kindness to your enemies and those who spitefully use you. Just because someone treats you like crap doesn’t mean it’s okay to do the same. Maybe they’re having a bad f***ing day. Do you know the miracle that took place on the cross? If Jesus were anything like me, there would have been no crucifixion. I would have called more angels than you could have imagined and wasted this place. But the creator of heaven and earth allowed himself to be treated with cruelty and violence, choosing to forgive rather than retaliate. If you can manage to understand that, I believe a change would occur in your heart.
It has been a frustrating week knowing my sister has been suffering. If you have read this far, thank you for that. I pray the Lord will lavish great blessings upon you and your family. May the Spirit of the Lord pour out His love in your heart.
No words. Just love coming your sister’s way. Love you, Tony.
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Thank you Angela.
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I saw this as a post on Facebook. I know at least one person commenting “Prayers” with the little praying hands emoji who also doesn’t see basic medical as a human right. This is where the rubber hits the road; where beliefs meet action. I wasn’t a big fan of ACA because it seemed like a big giveaway to insurance companies, but leaving people to die simply because they’re poor is inexcusable. You also only focus on economics. The reality is that poor white people are more often seen as “deserving” than poor black people. Women’s health issues are less aggressively treated. Your sister had the three worst strikes against her: race, sex, and economics.
Prayers are great, but they’re meaningless when that’s all you’re willing to do for those in need
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You’re definitely right about that, Carolyn.
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I understand your frustration with systems, because when I had cancer on my spinal cord and the doctor said I needed radiation, the insurance company said they would not cover it, so I wasn’t going to have it. I know a lot of prayers went up and the radiation doctor, said “don’t worry about it” and he fought the insurance company and they paid it. It was only God and I don’t know if the doctor was a Christian (he came from India and I saw the pictures on the wall of those with the red prayer dot on their foreheads) but he did talk about the “Good Lord”. I notice that we have to research and ask the Holy Spirit to show us what to pray – it has to be specific though. Also, I went to prayer meetings, healing evangelists and doctors for almost a year (emergency rooms – at least 3 different ones) and no one knew what was wrong – I couldn’t walk. We didn’t have money to go to a lot of doctors, so we had prayer to find the right doctor to go to and I just happened to go to my Dad’s doctor – a neurologist and he found the tumor. I didn’t go to therapy because we didn’t have the money so I had stiff knees and had a hard time stepping down off a step and then an intercessor prayed for me and I began to walk normally. I praise God every day for His goodness and for my husband, Mike, who kept believing for me when I couldn’t.
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That’s awesome, Janice. Sorry you had to go through that, but, God is faithful.
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