God is Bigger Than The...IRS (sung to the tune of "God is Bigger than the Boogeyman")

*DISCLAIMER* Apologies to the book club girls, who already heard this story, but I had to post this here too!


In the past two years, Jerome & I have walked through some rough stuff. Most of the time, my faith that God will provide has been nil. I have always believed that God would come through for others, but not me.

Part of the reason I write this blog is to serve as a memorial for me. I don't ever want to forget the times that God has met me.

About a month ago, I began reading Beth Moore's book Believe God for a women's book club. The timing of this book was nothing but Divine. I know that God knew I needed this book for such a time as this.

One section of the book really stuck out to me. Beth was talking about Matthew 17:20, which says:

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. "

Beth wrote that sometimes God does not move the mountain in the physical way we expect. He instead wants to meet us at the top, and that is how the mountain is moved. This small little tidbit has rocked my world. I have asked God to move mountains, and sometimes He has. When He hasn't, I have doubted my faith and His love for me. What He wants, instead, is for me to climb the mountain with Him to experience Him at the top.

Last week, I received a check for $363 from the IRS. Last time I checked, the IRS was not in the business of randomly handing out money. But, who am I to doubt the Federal Government (*sigh* a post for another day)? So I deposited the check, thanked God for providing an unexpected provision exactly when we needed one, and half-expected men in suits to come & take me away.

Then, Friday night, we got home & checked the mail. There were three letters from the IRS. Dang. Knew it was too good to be true. Wondered if they were threatening death & dismemberment for getting behind on our monthly payments from our 2007 taxes. Yes, we were still trying to pay off our 2007 taxes.

I opened the first letter. It said, amidst the legal mumbo-jumbo that they had adjusted something and were giving us a $1800ish refund. Excuse me? Really?

The next two letters told Jerome and I (yes, we each got our own letter. I felt very special.) that they had applied about $1500 of our refund to pay our 2007 taxes, and they were sending us a refund check of $363.

The mystery check I received last week. So, we had $363 we weren't expecting, and one less HUGE bill! Only My God!

The funniest part about this story is that we had just finished having a discussion on the way home regarding finances. An actual discussion, not a fight. But still not fun. And God knew those letters were waiting for us in the mailbox. I wonder if He was giggling.

I told a friend this weekend that, while I would not have chosen to walk this battle in the first place, I am so glad I have. There have been numerous times over this journey that God could have removed the mountain miraculously. But He hasn't. There have been times I have wondered why He hasn't. Instead, we have walked together up the mountain, and each time I stumble, He lifts me back to my feet, dusts me off, and prods me along the path. I am so excited for the day I will stand with my God at the top of this mountain, and I am praising Him for showing me the path up it. I know now that God knew what I needed. He knew I needed a good walk with Him more than I needed a mountain removed.