Recently Evelyn and I had the great pleasure of having an early dinner with Ed and Millie, a couple who have become new friends within the past year. Our common bond is the Walk to Emmaus. Now that Evelyn has taken her Walk (last fall), we have all participated. Ed was my roommate when I took my walk last spring.
In the course of the conversation the topic moved into what it’s like to live a life overseen by Christ. I made a comment to the effect that living as a Christian is a hoot! And I have the experience to back it up.
Without going into a bunch of details that would serve no purpose except to bog the story down, let me just say that Daughter Karlyn, as an adopted child, was receiving assistance through Social Security. That is, until she turned 18 last October. At that point, the Social Security Administration saw fit to inform us that, as a legal adult, she would no longer be receiving these benefits.
Evelyn and I said, “Hold on, there, Sparky” (well, not in so many words, but I’m trying to make this interesting for you as a reader). We knew that, as long as Karlyn stayed in school full-time, she was entitled to continue receiving those benefits. In fact, even after she graduates, she qualifies for ongoing assistance until she’s 21 as long as she’s a full-time student. So we challenged the decision and went back and forth ever since October.
Meanwhile, Karlyn acquired a car just last month. She has a small fund that we’ve been keeping aside for her so that when this time came around, she could afford something. Buying the car was easy. Swallowing the amount that insurance would set her back was a candy of a different flavor. We had hoped that what she was earning at her portrait studio job would cover most if not all of her insurance costs.
But, no. Regardless of how they crunched the numbers – even with her driver’s ed certificate and proof of her honor roll grades – the bottom line was hard to look at. It was going to be a strong financial hit.
Wouldn’t you know – four months later, from the time we initially challenged Social Security’s decision to stop Karlyn’s benefits – we received a notice from the S. S. A. They had reviewed the facts, accepted the documentation that proved Karlyn was still a full-time student, and reinstated her benefits! Enclosed was a check retroactive to the date they had stopped payments and, of course, it was in the amount she needed to cover her insurance bill!
Now, come on. Sure, you can chalk that up to coincidence and good timing. But I choose to believe that when circumstances come together that precisely, and with such amazing timing, it’s more than mere chance. Somebody’s watching, and that Somebody is having a ball conducting the flow of the events so they come together perfectly.
Yeah, I’ll say it again: living in the presence of Christ is a hoot!