In His Ways, and In His Time

It’s funny how this hit home for me recently.

As some of you will know, I went through a fairly major health scare recently that turned out luckily to be quite manageable. Flip side is, after all the horrible blood tests and ultrasound and consultations, I incurred close to two grand in medical fees and am looking at an ongoing, pricey, daily medication regime for the next year or two at least. At more than 10 bucks a pill, we ain’t looking at chump change here. And then, just a week after my doc gave the all-clear (sort of), it was time to jet off to Hong Kong where I spent even more money eating. I would not include shopping here as I really didn’t spend that much, and in my defence, I now believe I bought those Chanel earrings to celebrate still being alive and healthy. In any case, when the credit card bills arrived in the mail, I almost regurgitated my pill in shock. When the figures still didn’t change, I resigned myself to paying up.

And then, a minor miracle happened. A few days after I paid off the first bill, I checked my bank balance and discovered that I had a few hundred dollars more than I thought I did. As it turns out, two or three of my stocks had just paid out their declared dividends, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Then yesterday, I cleared the second major bill, almost wiping out my bank balance in the process. And again, today, I checked my account and realised that I was over a hundred bucks richer; yet another stock had just paid out its dividend today.

Yes, I know a few hundred bucks in dividends isn’t a lot. But a few hundred bucks every quarter or half-yearly can add up to a significant sum over time. And for me, the significance of it all is what matters. It’s as if He’s telling me that He’s with me in His own way when I needed help; I got as good and clean a bill of health as I could have hoped for under the circumstances, and when I was in financial need, He gave me some good ol’ moolah from unexpected sources and illustrated for me again the benefits and importance of saving and growing one’s money. God really works in His own ways and His own time.

It’s been a sobering month in more ways than one, but I’ve had my share of lovely moments to tide me through the lows and things should get better from now. There’s so much to look forward to this year – a long-awaited trip to Italy with the husband and, most anticipated of all, our little nook in the pits of Punggol. I know some people sneer at the idea of living in Punggol, and honestly if people were judged on their cool factor by where they lived and worked, I would be a complete rube; but who cares, we’ll be together and that’s way beyond cool.

So, thank you God, for keeping faith with me even though I’m a lousy believer on so many levels. Amen.