Yup, my feet are not made of clay - they are made of rubber.
I bounced a check last week.
A substantial amount. A tidy sum. A big one.
The down payment on our new cabinets for the new house.
I had a total *spaz* moment. (I would call it a "senior moment" but that implies that the mistake had something to do with age. Nope. This one was just plain stupid…)
You see, Mr. Cabinet Guy deposited the check the same afternoon that I handed it to him. (As if he didn't have the total right to do that – HA!)
And I forgot to transfer the money to cover it.
Funny thing is – (not ha ha funny, by the way) – is that I didn't even realize it until the next morning when I went to check my emails. I had something called a LOW THRESHOLD ALERT on my account.
Foreboding.
I have added this little gizmo to my online banking so if I go below a certain amount in my checking account, it alerts me. ("Hey, silly pants, you need to transfer some funds!") Works great for those incidental *forget-me-not* moments.
In this case, as I read on in the email, I found out that I was several HUNDRED dollars overdrawn. At first, I didn't even remember writing the checks the day before – I initially thought that someone had invaded our account and chocked up a whole bunch of goodies at our expense…
Then I remembered – oh no, the cabinet guy.
So, I quickly made an online transfer to cover the check.
Hoping I might have circumvented the whole stupid process of having the check returned.
No such luck.
At one point I thought I might be OK. A friendly customer service representative told me that though the check had been returned, it would be put through my account again that morning – and of course, it would be OK now.
Totally wrong information.
The check has been returned, and I have been assessed a rather LARGE returned check fee. (Does it even matter that I've been a loyal customer for 37 years???)
The old days are gone – there is no more *grace period* at the bank.
It got me thinking.
I'm a little used to being able to have some breathing room with bills and stuff. They might send out a (little) threatening "notice of cancellation" letter here and there, but they're just warning shots really. On most things, you've got some time past your due date to pay.
Banking – no longer do they give you that "second pass" to make it all right.
Got me thinking – (what doesn't these days??) – no grace period.
You know, WITHOUT JESUS, that's kinda the whole situation. WITHOUT JESUS, we are totally under judgment. All fallen short – no second chances.
With Jesus, there is…
GRACE. PERIOD.
No fees, no penalty.
We come with nothing but our repentant hearts – and Jesus removes every sin counted against us, now and forever.
The overdrafts, the insufficient funds, the cancelled or lost checks, the stolen debit cards – it's all gone when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior.
Aren't we so very privileged and fortunate to live on this side of the cross?! Aren't we beyond blessed to live in the grace period?!
I don't know about you, but I happen to like the way Jesus does banking!
And the customer service is wonderful!!
Have you ever bounced a check?
(C'mon, I want some truth-tellers out there)
What does the grace of God through Jesus mean to you today?
Linked today with Joan at SHARING HIS BEAUTY
BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"
Yes I have bounced my share of checks and at this point of my life its due to stupidity/forgetfulness/lack of attention to detail/distraction/too many other things going on, etc. No excuses most of the time and you are right there is NO grace at the banks anymore.
ReplyDeleteMy life is similiar to my banking abilities, lots of misteps/stupidity/bad choices...dare I say sin, so glad there is grace to be had in Jesus...where would I be without it...I would be stuck in the mire without one shred of hope
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI cannot really think straight at the moment, to answer either of your questions. It has been a fruitful but very stressful day and I am so so tired. However reading your blog always uplifts and speaks to me, you have a great gift of taking a situation along life's way and translating it spiritually, (hope that makes sense, don't know how else to put it) - I agree with your previous comment, I am so glad there is grace to had in Jesus, where would I be without it, stuck in the mire, without a shred of hope.
I so love the way Jesus does banking too! I have not bounced a check, but son is notorious for always overdrawing his bank account (I don't think he's ever written a check, LOL, they use their card for everything it seems these days). The overdraft fees got to be so ridiculous, like $37.50 every time and if he didn't catch he was overdrawn and kept using the card, he could get several overdraft fees at a time making him more overdrawn. We finally set up where he gets a text if he goes below a certain limit and I get an email so I can notify him (and throw money into his account since I'm still on it). We also set up an overdraft type of account like a credit card account so if he goes over on his account it will pull money from that account with no penalties.
ReplyDelete(((Sharon))) Its just the stress of the move that something like this happened; hopefully you got some rest this weekend?
betty
Unfortunately, I once bounced a check.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while...but, yes, I have! It can happen to all of us. But, as for your post...as always, you have been encouraging and inspiring! Not to mention funny. Thank you for the words of wisdom today!
ReplyDeleteI love how you turned this around from grace period to Grace. Period. That's just plum inspired.
ReplyDeleteAs for bouncing, I was a horrible money manager in college. Just call me Tigger... The bank would call my parents, and they would transfer funds and scold me. It was a small town. I finally learned to be less of a blonde banker by the time I graduated and got married. We have bounced a few times in 28 years, but they were honest mistakes like you described (always my fault)and the bank just sent them through again.
I'm behind in blog visiting.
I've been spending hours trying to go through my thousands of photos one at a time and save, organize, and delete so that my computer might get a little faster.
Going to read what I missed now...
Perfectly penned truth! I love your analogy and the working out of God's grace. Well done.
ReplyDeletepeace~elaine