Stop, Wait, Listen

In my excitement of shopping, packing and planning our vacation during the last few days before we left, there was something I forgot to do. As we pulled out of our driveway two Friday evenings ago to drop the kids off at my Mom's, I knew there was something I was forgetting. But I couldn't figure out what it was. Not only did I pack for me and my husband but also for the kids. While we were on vacation they would be staying with grandparents so there was a lot I had to remember for all of us. I wasn't worried about leaving a coffee pot on or anything plugged in that shouldn't be, my Dad would be staying at our house to keep the dog. But something was nagging at my brain! What was I forgetting? By the time we reached our Cruise Ship and boarded, I had forgotten that I was forgetting! Until, today. The car payment!

I don't know why on earth my husband believes I should do the bills! He is much better with money and much smarter too, so the fact that I have this job annoys me to no end. This morning as I prepared to pay bills, I found our car payment stub that clearly showed it was due on the 27th of March. Thankfully, we have a ten day grace period but I didn't want to take any chances so I called to pay by phone. When I called I instantly got an automated system. I can't even begin to describe through my writing how much I abhor this kind of system. But, I had to go through it! The worst part about these types of systems are how sensitive they are to sound. If I sigh or breathe too hard it uses that as a response. "I'm sorry, I did not recognize your account number." And I have even been one of those stupid people that talk back out of anger. "That's because I wasn't saying my account number, I was BREATHING!" You get the point by now, I'm sure. After finally getting to the "PAY MY BILL" portion of the call, the recorded voice tells me that I can pay two different amounts. Apparently after speaking with a real person, if you are one day late the phone system records it as late, but the financial records do not. So I could pay one amount that would be two months worth or I could pay the current amount. Well wouldn't you know I accidentally paid two months worth. Now for some of you, this would not be a big deal but in my home, we can't afford to make two car payments at one time! For those of you that can, BLESS YOU!

As soon as I heard the system tell me the amount, I panicked! Yes, I even began to cry. However, I knew this was one more thing I could use to convince Jeremy that my resignation of bill paying was needed a.s.a.p! Okay so I take a deep breath, try to calm down and then call my husband screaming! "Jeremy you have to call Ford Motor Credit, I accidentally paid two months worth of car payments and I just paid a bunch of other bills too and we don't have enough money in our account to pay and ..........". "Babe. Calm down. BABE! WHAT'S THE NUMBER?" You see I couldn't call back because my name is not on the account, just his. So we call three way and since he was on the phone they would talk to me. He got to hang up and then everything was resolved. "Mam, did you get a confirmation number when you paid the bill?" "No." "Well, then it's not posted to your account. But let's make sure." Okay so after all of my freaking out and emotional meltdown, everything was fine. "Mam, let's go ahead and go through the automated system together and I will stay on the line while you make the payment. But remember to get your confirmation number, otherwise the payment is not valid." After making the payment I then hear the words, "To confirm payment, press one. To cancel, press two." Funny, I didn't hear that the first time. Instead I assumed the worst. I then explain to the nice man on the phone walking me though the steps, "Sorry, this was my fault. I apologize for my frantic state!" I am sure he was rolling his eyes but he said, "That's okay, I probably would have done the same thing. But it's a good thing you hung up because you never got a confirmation number so it canceled the payment."

There are so many times when I need to stop, wait and listen. It's kind of like the stop, drop and roll concept that you learn in grade school regarding clothing contact with fire. If I could just stop for a moment, wait for a moment and listen for a moment, I would get much better results from a lot of things in my life. Over the past few days I have been trying to come to a conclusion on some things in my life. Decisions need to be made regarding my involvement in some areas and choices need to be made in some questions I have been asking myself. Usually any battle I am facing involves me, myself and I. Even when I have a conflict with someone else, the main person I tend to conflict with is me. Or when I have a decision to make about something, I usually battle within. Too often I don't really stop and wait for the right answer. As a woman I think it can be very difficult at times to not go with our emotions or with what our friends think we should do. At times we need to respond and respond quickly but more often than not, we need to stop. I believe that this is how God can truly reveal His power to us. When I react and do things quickly, the results are not always positive. Instead of saying the first thing that comes to my mind when giving advice or when involved in a conflict, I have found that it is best to walk away. There are some things that can't be solved instantly. If I don't take the time to stop and listen to what the other person is trying to say or stop to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, I will often jump to conclusions. If I would have STOPPED while making that car payment over the phone, I would have saved myself a lot of stress today.

Waiting is the most intense verb I believe there is. Most of us become extremely weary just waiting. For some reason we feel like we should always be doing something. If there is an issue with our spouse, friend, co-worker, child or family member, we want to work it out, get it resolved. At least I do. My husband is quite the opposite! He likes to walk away and not talk about it. Actually, he would be happy to never bring it up again. But, I like to get it out there, hash it out, confront it, discuss! This is not always the best choice. But recently God showed me that there was something in my life that I needed to wait on. As I have waited, a wound has begun to heal a little at a time. If we could just sit back, and take a break, God could do a whole lot in our lives. There are so many things that we take on that we don't have to! He will do it for us! He is faithful to work out every single detail of our lives. One thing I have noticed with my husband is that waiting to discuss an issue with Him is key. If I wait, I often find the issue to disappear or I find him to be more approachable or softer towards me. When I don't wait, the results are the total opposite. While on the phone with the automated bill system for my car payment, I should have stopped. If I would have stopped, I then could have waited and heard my next step.

Instead of going through the stop, wait and listen process, I tend to lean more towards the stop, panic and scream process. Every single time I do this, the Holy Spirit comes along and sits me down. "Let ME handle this. Calm down, don't react. Don't let this turn into such a big thing." And for any of you that doubt whether God speaks to us, HE DOES. He speaks to me just like that too! I may not hear an audible voice but I have come to learn His voice and I know it well. It's always gentle yet strong, always recognizable and always speaks the truth. When I don't listen to HIM, I listen to myself or others. There are days when I haven't been in the Word and there are days when those that I am surrounded by have not been in the WORD. When I need some help, some wisdom, some advice, I need to listen to someone that's prayed up and full of the Word. If not, I may be taken in a wrong direction. It's crucial for me, for you, for everyone to be careful whose words we choose to listen to. Our friends will sometimes jump on our bandwagon and take our side which doesn't always help. Our family sometimes does the same. If we listen to ourselves, we can bet our emotions will taint our desicions so it's best to listen to our Heavenly Father. God does speak through other people and when He does, I believe it will be what He has already been showing you in your spirit. If we stop, wait and listen, we can always hear His voice. It may take a while, but I promise you will hear Him. Paying my car payment never had to be so difficult but I made it that way. Listening to the automated system would have helped my cause. Clear instructions were given at the end but I didn't wait long enough to hear them.

When we don't stop, we assume the worst. When we don't wait, we miss what God has for us. When we don't listen, we make poor desicions. When we do stop, we find hope. When we do wait, we find strength and when we do listen, we find peace. This process will always bring peace, every single time.

Isaiah30:18 But the LORD still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them

Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD.

Psalm 33:20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.