I’ll Mail the Medical Bills Tomorrow

Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.  Joshua 1:11

Like many of you, we have a health savings account from which we can get reimbursed for medical bills that weren’t covered by insurance. Well, a while ago we had some medical bills I had to pay, so two months ago, I printed off the reimbursement paperwork, filled it out, and had every intention of sending it in. I didn’t have any stamps though – seriously, who has stamps anymore? So, I planned to get stamps the next time I was at the post office, which is absurd because I’m not even sure I remember where the post office is. Well, since then, a couple more medical bills have been paid, and yesterday, I remembered that I never sent the old paperwork. So, I printed the form again, adding the new bills, filled it all out, and promptly laid it on the counter. I’ll get stamps tomorrow.

This unfortunately, is how I approached my addiction. For years, I simply assumed that I’d get sober someday. I knew that if I continued down my road of destruction, that I’d tear my life apart eventually. In the back of my mind though, I truly believed that I was going to find recovery before calamity struck. I’ll do it tomorrow. I just never got there though, because I never actually did anything to get myself there. So, calamity did strike. It had to. That was the only way I was going to be forced from my apathy and inaction.

In recovery, I have learned – or rather, I am learning – to recognize when I’m putting important things off until tomorrow. The problem is that tomorrow never comes. There’s always today, and today, I don’t feel like doing the thing that I know I should be doing. If I want my life to be somewhere tomorrow though, I must turn myself in that direction today. If I always intend, but never do, I’ll never get there.

This is the lesson of today’s passage. In it, Joshua prepared to lead his people across the Jordan River into the promised land. We’re going. Get ready. Joshua had an intentional plan, and he insisted that his people prepare today for where they wanted to go tomorrow.

As I said, this is a lesson that I’m still learning. To be the kind of husband, father, physician, and Christian that I desire to be, I must intentionally turn myself in that direction today. If it’s important, then today is the day. I’ll do it tomorrow, will never get me there. Now, we’ll see if I apply that lesson to mailing the medical bills.