Tuesday - A Humbling Reminder

I finished my retail shift yesterday around 5:00 p.m. and was looking forward to an evening watching TV, piddling in the kitchen, working on a few other projects. But upon turning my phone back on, I received a text message from my husband asking me to call his cell. My husband never texts. Or rarely texts is more correct. So, I anxiously called him. Seems our power had been turned off at 4:00 p.m. and the expected low for the night was 28 degrees.

Yes, it was turned off for non-payment. Except that I had paid the bill. I looked online and verified that I had paid the bill but then I noticed that the payment was "undone" a few days later. The power company's billing office was closed and I couldn't resolve that question until morning. We made our emergency preparations, found the candles, turned on the gas fireplace, put on our long underwear and settled in for the night.

We awakened to the chilly morning and began the phone-calling regime to find out what had happened and when it would be turned back on. It seems that the payment was "undone" because I had entered an incorrect digit in one of the account numbers to pay online. A typo. We did not get the message that was reportedly left for us. I did get a followup bill that I glanced at and made a mental note to find out why the payment wasn't listed but it was the holiday season, the retail schedule was exhausting, company was coming. In short, I forgot. But after listening to the customer service rep list all my wrong doing and telling me for the umpteenth time that I was freezing because of my inability to type correctly and my "own doings," I lost my cool. (Losing my cool while freezing is an ironic comparison, I suppose.) I did end the call by apologizing and telling the lady I hoped this unpleasant phone call did not ruin her day.

And then I began thinking about grace, again. How blessed are we that our God does not list our "wrong doings" and remind us that the mess we are in is because of our own "doings." In fact, our own "doings" are washed away by an ultimate sacrifice: His life for our sins. So customer service rep that listened to me yelling this morning, please forgive me. And may my mouth once again become a resting place for the praises of God.

Have a blessed day.

--Laura