“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7 (NIV)
I spoke last time about how God wants us to praise Him even during the messy we experience in life. He had reminded me of this truth during my January fast (giving God the first of 2018) and I’ve been making a conscious choice to praise Him in each situation – whether or not I can see the blessing or protection I know from His Word He provides.
This past Monday was a fairly normal day. I had a doctor appointment so arrived home around noon to start working and get some things accomplished before heading to pick up our youngest. In the mail I received a bill which stated it was now past due and there were late fees associated with it. I knew I had paid this bill the month before and was concerned as to why they never received the check I had proof that I had written.
I called my bank first, asking if the check had been cashed. It had not. Then I called the company and reminded them I’ve never missed a payment and would they please cancel the late fee if I pay it right now. They were happy to waive the fee for me because of our history and then I went about paying the stop check fee instead of risking having the amount deducted twice. An inconvenience and added expense, but I praised God we had the funds to cover the fee and for the mercy of the other company to waive their late fee.
Three days later, I get another bill in the mail stating I failed to make my regular payment last month. Now, I know I made the payments because I had the check receipts in my checkbook. That particular company wasn’t issuing a late fee but it got me wondering what had happened to all the checks I had written during that pay period. I looked up the history in the check book and realized we had the possibility of one more bill not having been delivered in that bundle of payments.
I went into my receipts to look up the phone number to pay that bill over the phone and guess what I found? Three envelopes, stamped, checks made out and waiting to be put in the mailbox. I unknowingly put the envelopes to be mailed in with the receipts to be filed. However, in the mail today was the information to complete the stop check transaction, so I was able to call the bank and they issued a Cancel Stop Check Request which I was able to sign, date and return from the comfort of my own home. I was able to call up the one remaining company with the outstanding balance and pay that bill over the phone without a late fee because it was still within my 10-day grace period.
Ten minutes of my time this morning and God refunded our stop check fee and reassured me our mail wasn’t getting stolen. I had made a mistake, plain and simple.
I think, though, what He was really doing was reassuring me He has our family protected. I am boldly stepping out right now asking God for some pretty big miracles and I’m believing He is going to answer. I believe this was one very small example, with minimal messy, for my Father to remind me if He will take care of something this important (finances and credit ratings are important while living here on earth), He hasn’t forgotten about my heart’s desire and the desire I have for our family’s answered prayers. That, my friends, makes walking through the messy of this world so worthwhile, even, or maybe especially, when the messy was made from my own mistakes.
© Cheri Swalwell 2018