February 27 – “Secret codes and silly questions”

Boy, did we ever receive a shocking surprise the other day.  I was paying some bills and preparing to pay others as soon as my paycheck arrives.  I knew that the day when our car would be paid off was approaching in March.  Now we borrowed the money from ourselves.  My annuity set up years ago allows us to do that, and all the interest goes back into our own account, all for a fee that amounts to a whopping $170 ($70 to get it set up and $20 per year that the loan is open).  They did an automatic draw from our checking account once a month. 

So, I decided to give them a call to see if I was going to have to notify them in any way once the account was paid in full.  She ran through all the required secret codes and silly questions, and finally agreed to talk to me about it.  She looked it up in her computer, and after what seemed to be an eternity, she began talking, “Well, Mr. Vaughan, it looks to me like that account was paid in full with the February draw, so there will be no more draws from that account.  There is nothing you have to do.  Is there anything else I can help you with?” 

Wait.  What?  Are you telling me that the event I have been anxiously anticipating for five long years came and went and I didn’t even know it?  I just … missed it?  I didn’t get to celebrate?  I didn’t get to jump up and down and talk about how we can change our insurance coverage and go out somewhere to celebrate?  We didn’t get the chance to talk about the hundreds of ways we could possibly spend the extra money (i.e. cruise to Alaska), or the one thing we probably would actually do with it (put it into savings).  Why, I had every right to be absolutely indignant.  I should be furious.  I should rant and rave.  I should …

Well, OK.  All that last part never entered my mind.  I was too busy doing all that first part, minus the literal jumping up and down.  But I was definitely doing it on the inside.  I had to verify this news.  I keep a ledger of that loan, and every month I mark that it has been paid.  According to the end of that ledger there was still one month to go, so I thumbed back to the beginning to check it out, month by month.  Didn’t take long.  The very first entry was made, not next to the appropriate month, but next to the title of the list.  Very confusing, since the title of the list was a number - the total amount of the loan.  A valid mistake, right?  So come to find out I really was a full month off in my projections. 

So we really do have cause to celebrate.  Now what should we do?  Outside of taking a walk around WalMart.  See … that’s what we actually did.  I was just hoping thre might be a little more to come.

Psalms 145:6-7 says, “They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.  They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”

Father, thank you for the small accomplishments.   Celebrating even the little things is fun.  Amen.