It had been a rough couple of weeks to put it mildly. I’d found out, almost by accident, that many C-pap machines made by Phillips Respironics had been recalled in June. I hadn’t been notified. (In a way, I’m thankful I hadn’t been notified. It would have been one more thing to deal with while our son was dying.)

So I spent lots of hours trying to get information and find out what I should do. It was like pulling teeth, but eventually it became clear that yes, Phillips Respironics did recall a great many of their C-Pap machines and yes, mine was one of them. I was also told that PR would replace my machine and was given the impression it would arrive momentarily. A week and a half went by. I called again to ask when I might expect my new machine and was told it might happen in six to twelve months!

The next important question: was it safe to use my C-pap that had been recalled until my new one arrived? There were no straight answers on that either, but the information online outlined some pretty nasty possibilities that were the reasons for the recall.

My insurance company advised me to purchase a new machine because mine was old. It would cost me nothing. That sounded good, but when I talked to my provider, she said that because of the recall, so many people were ordering new machines that it would be at least a couple of months or longer before I could expect to receive a new one. (Another company that makes C-paps thought they’d need to come up with 1,000 machines for people whose machines had been recalled, but discovered they would need 10,000!) My head was spinning.

Then out of the blue, Donn began  having mysterious pains in his left leg during the night that kept him from sleeping or even being able to lie in bed. He was up all night with the pain. During the day, he was fine, but every evening, the pain returned. He made the rounds of seeing his family doctor and then going to the ER when he couldn’t get relief–our chiropractor was on vacation. I dreaded nightfall and seeing Donn come under the power of these mysterious pains.

In the midst of that I decided to make a fitted sheet out of a flat one. Everything went wrong… I dropped my pin container twice, showering pins every where which I’m still finding weeks later. Then as I started sewing the elastic in the last corner of the sheet, my sewing machine started clanking and clattering–never a good sign–and not sewing properly. I changed the needle and cleaned the hook race and the feed dogs (yes, sewing machines have those), but nothing worked.

I lifted my eyes to the heavens and said, “Lord, are you mad at us? Have we offended you in some way?” There was no answer.

Eventually, I oiled the machine and fixed the original problem, only to have the sewing machine lock up as I tried to fill a bobbin. I “searched the yellow pages” (not really, I searched the Internet), and found a sewing machine repairman in New Castle, about a 40 minute drive. We made plans to go to a Ruby Tuesdays located in New Castle at the same time to use our buy one/get one for 50% off coupon.

We arrived at the restaurant after dropping off my machine. It felt good just to relax after the couple of weeks of craziness. We ordered our favorite meals, and while we were enjoying our food, a woman at a table near us came over. She told us she’s moving to a place where there are no Ruby Tuesdays and put a $15 gift card on the table. She said, “You can have this gift card—it has 12 or 13 dollars on it.” We thanked her profusely.

Later, when our waitress brought our check, Donn handed her the card. He also tried to hand her a credit card for the remaining amount we would owe, but she said, “No, I’ll just take the gift card, then I’ll come back to take your credit card.”  Awhile later she came back laughing.  “When I applied the gift card to your bill, the bill disappeared, so you don’t owe anything. It’s free! “

We were astounded and told her the gift card had been given to us by another customer. She was amazed. So all this meal cost us was the tip! 

As we left the restaurant, I still didn’t know whether or not I should use my recalled C-pap, we still didn’t know if the chiropractic treatment Donn had received that day would get rid of his night pain, or if the repairman would be able to fix my sewing machine. But the kindness of a stranger and our bill being miraculously wiped out had dispelled the dark cloud hanging over me and my fear that we had somehow offended God.

Sometimes trouble comes because we have been disobedient and God needs to get our attention, but at other times, trouble comes because we live in a fallen world, because we are being attacked by the enemy of our souls, or because we’re being taught perseverance.  For times such as these, we have the words of the Apostle Paul:

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (II Corinthians 4:8) 

And the words of Jesus:

…In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.

(John 16:33)

Author’s Update: After much prayer for wisdom, I searched the Internet and found an article that quoted two well-known pulmonologists who were advising their patients about using or not using their recalled C-pap machines until they received new ones, Donn’s chiropractic treatment was amazingly effective and Donn is sleeping again, and the sewing machine repairman says he fixed my machine! When we pick it up, we’ll visit Ruby Tuesdays again to use our new buy one/get one 50% off coupon but Donn prophecies that we’ll have to pay for this meal!