“A Gift from the hand of God”
For Brad and Sarah St. Clair, an onslaught of medical problems and unrelenting worries pushed them to the edge of despair. Sarah underwent surgery at North Carolina Baptist Hospital to remove potential tumors. A few months later, a terrible car wreck left her with a fractured skull and multiple broken bones.
Financial pressures compounded the stress of her illness and injuries. Sarah was out of work for nearly a year. With only Brad working, medical bills rapidly piled on top of other bills, leaving them overwhelmed.
“It was so frightening. With all those bills weighing down on us, I felt like there was no hope. It wasn’t that we wouldn’t pay; we couldn’t pay.”
The St. Clairs fell between the cracks of assistance. They had too much to qualify for Medicaid or charity care programs, but not enough to pay the balance of Sarah’s hospital bills.
In the midst of their fears, Brad talked with their pastor, Rev. Eddie Yount of Mount Hebron Baptist Church in Taylorsville. A miracle began to unfold.
The Mother’s Day Offering committee at Baptist prayerfully reviewed the St. Clairs’ needs. Rev. Paul Mullen, Director of Church and Community Relations at the Hospital, called them with the news of relieving grace, saying, “Sarah’s hospital bill has been paid by compassionate and mission-minded North Carolina Baptists in the name of Jesus Christ and His love.”
Tears streamed down Sarah’s face. “The Mother’s Day Offering was a gift from the hand of God. After this past year it would have been easy to give up. Then this beautiful thing happened to us. It was such a great help to a family in need like ours. They lifted a huge burden off our shoulders, and we thank them with all our hearts!”
Brad couldn’t hold back his tears. “It’s been a very hard year and we’ve tried to be faithful. This gift was a testimony of God’s love coming to us through NC Baptists. This was like God saying, ‘I still love you and you’re going to make it.’ They saved us financially, gave us hope and changed our lives.”