Sometimes, Unexpected Things Happen

I guess I should have learned that lesson by now.

Like when you get the mail, and you get a letter from an address you don't recognize. And when you have recently had a baby, those letters seem to signify yet another bill for something that you assumed your insurance was covering (or were told that it would!) but turns out the insurance would not.

Sidenote: We have been finding out every now and then lately, via phone calls from unknown numbers, that for some reason or another, our bills are not getting to us. For example: on Friday, I got a phone call from the anesthesiologist's office telling me that they had sent me not one but two bills. One in September and one in October. Neither of which I have gotten. So obviously, we haven't paid that bill because we had no idea we owed any money. And not only did we owe them money, but turns out, we owe them A LOT of money. And when the guy who called asked if I wanted to go ahead and pay them over the phone, I about panicked before I realized that it would be wiser to wait till I got the bill in writing to give anyone my credit card information. (I'm still waiting on that bill to show up in my mailbox. I know they have my correct address because I verified it with them. So until I see something in writing, my address is all they are going to get.)

Anyway. So today. We got a letter from an address in Nashville. I assumed it was the bill from Friday, and so I began to hesitatingly open it. (I hate getting bills.)

But then something totally unexpected happen.

It was the opposite of a bill.

It was a check.

Refunding over a thousand dollars to us.

I cannot even tell you how incredible the timing of this letter is.

I fully attribute this blessing to the fact that Tyler and I paid our tithing (on the very small income we have gotten recently) on Sunday. And the fact that Tyler fasted for us to have the money to be able to pay our bills.

We already were feeling so blessed. In fact, our FHE lesson last night was on that very topic--that the Lord would guide us, and that when we looked back on this time in our lives, we would be able to very clearly see the Lord's hand in our lives.

But apparently, we don't even need to "look back" to see the Lord's hand in blessing our lives. The truth is, that since Richie was born, I feel like the Lord's hand has never been more evident. We are absolutely some of the most blessed people I know. (Which sounds braggy, but I do not intend it that way.)

So, at the risk of having a too-long post and becoming too preachy, I just want to add a couple more thoughts before I forget:

*I wonder if the way I feel about how evident the Lord's hand is currently in our lives is in any way similar to how the brother of Jared felt when he literally saw the hand of the Lord. (Okay, finger. Ether 3:4-6)
*And it is definitely better to "look upward" than to look anywhere else. Because when we look to the Lord for guidance, he absolutely gives it to us. (Conference talk by Carl B. Cook)
*1 Nephi 17:3 "And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore he did provide means for us while we did sojurn in the wilderness." -- Like I told Tyler last night, I definitely have been feeling sometimes lately that we are "sojurn[ing] in the wilderness."Yet, the Lord is, at every turn, and through various people, taking care of us.