How can it be such a typical day until a sudden change of events happens that completely catches you unprepared? This happened to me the other day. It was just an ordinary day at work. I came home expecting the routine of fixing supper, maybe going for a walk, watching tv and/or working on the computer for a while. However, as I was pulling in the driveway, I stopped to get the mail only to find a letter from the IRS. I never get mail from the IRS, so it was the first letter I opened. I had to look at it several times to make sure it was real. It was a bill for $174,893.00. Yes, I have the decimal point in the right place. I know, I had to look twice too. 
Strangely, I didn’t get upset about this surprise. This could be due to a number of reasons:
- The absurdity of it. How can you owe more than you make? Evidently you can. But it just couldn’t be correct. There had to be some kind of mistake.
- I’ve been through something similar before and after a couple days of prayer, it worked out. I will tell you that story next.
- I’ve heard you can make payments to the IRS for the rest of your life if you have to and they can’t take your house or anything like that.
These thoughts literally went through my mind as I was reading the letter again and again. Oh, and Scott is going to flip out when he sees this. It is one thing to get a big bill that you are prepared for. For example in August I expect the water bill or the electric bill to be higher than normal and there is always this nervous anticipation as I open it. However, this was a complete shock.
Similarly in 2013 only months after Jeff had passed away, I was going to meet with our accountant to get my taxes figured by myself for the very fist time. As a matter of fact, I had to google where her office was because I had never done this before. I felt very confident that I had everything I needed and would get money back as usual. I still had the farm and although I’m sure I couldn’t find every receipt from Jeff’s wonderful filing system that consisted of sticking receipts in the glove box, in the basket by the door… I was confident I had the majority of expenses documented. As I was driving to her office, I was making plans for how I was going to spend my refund. I committed a certain amount to a bible project the church was working on, going to donate some to a charity that was important to our family and I was going to by myself a nice ring to wear where I had worn my wedding ring. That was going in.
Coming out, all I could do was thank the Lord that even though I owed an amount equivalent to a modest salary or equivalent to the purchase of a new car, I did have the money in an account to pay it. I remember praying all the way home and just thanking God that no mater that I owed, He had already provided for me to pay this bill. The money to pay the bill was in the same account that turned out to be the problem. When I called my financial adviser to get the money out, he couldn’t understand how I could owe taxes. He did some checking for me and found out that when Jeff’s retirement was rolled to a non-taxed account, the IRS form had been marked incorrectly and I was being taxed as if that money was income. Once I got the corrected form and sent it to my tax lady, guess what? I was getting a return. It is times like this that has proven to me over and over that God is faithful.
Back to my new tax experience. Because of the fact that so many times in my life God has been faithful, this one didn’t seem to rattle me. Now Scott’s reaction was a little different. At first he didn’t believe me. He thought I was saying it wrong. He had to take the paper from my hand and look at himself. I have no doubt in his mind he was wondering how he was going to cover my debt. He knows I don’t have that much in my savings account. He started asking me a thousand questions about 2015 that I couldn’t begin answer. He was already working on a payment plan in his head and I’m sure wondering what he got himself into. Remember we had just celebrated our 1 year anniversary the week this letter came in the mail. To put your mind at ease, the bill had something to do with the sale of the farm. The IRS did not realize it was my primary residence. It cost me $50 to refile my 2015 taxes and all should be well.
What I can tell you is no matter what you suddenly find yourself going through, the death of a family member in a car wreck, an unexpected diagnosis, a child that has decided to live a lifestyle in ways he/she was not raised, or a spouse that has decided he/she isn’t in love with you any more, God has it under control. Life isn’t always fun, but through time, He provides a light at the end of the tunnel.
You know, there are lots of places we can put our trust. We can put our trust in a savings account or we can put our trust in our jobs. I will say there was a time where I put my trust in the fact that I had “followed all the rules.” How could anything bad happen to me because I had lived my life according to all of the church rules. I have found there is only one place you can put your trust and that is in God. As a warrior going into battle, King David states in Psalms 20:7, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” King David knew where he had to put his trust during battle when his and his men’s lives were literally on the line. An extremely large tax bill does not equate to going into a physical battle during King David’s time, but where we put our trust is still the same. We need to put our trust in the only person capable of such responsibility.
Last Friday I tackled the pantry. I just don’t know how it happens. The oldest date I found was a box of pudding mix from 2008. It was pistachio flavored. I bought it to make a jello salad that never happened. I threw away items that had been in the pantry for several years and just reached their expiration date such as a jar of molasses. I can’t even remember how long I have had it. I use it about twice a year when I make ham and beans. I will have to get a new one now. There were also items such as a package of hot dog buns that had just recently been purchased for a Memorial Day cookout, but were already non-edible. Every item in my pantry was bought for a reason. I had a plan and purpose in mind for every item when I put it in my grocery cart. It is just that some items were used for their purpose and some just sat on the shelf until their time was up.
View From My Shoes 