The Key: Communication

After work, I needed to stop by church for a quick meeting with the pastor. Once that task was completed, I had just enough time to drive through Mickey D's for chicken sandwich and a Diet Coke before I picked the kids up from school. Imagine my embarrassment and surprise when my credit card was declined for a few pennies over $2.00!

A quick phone call to the C.C. company revealed my kid's school transposed the first two numbers of the tuition fee we pay through that credit card and the mistake put us over our limit. I called the school to get them to correct the problem and was told they had voided that charge on the day the mistake was made. They even emailed me a copy of the void! I called the C.C. company with that information and, - here's a shocker - I was told there was nothing they could do about it until they could speak to the school directly to confirm the void. It appears the void shows up on the school's machine but not on the C.C. company's records. The school has to contact the company by phone to correct the error. If the school had simply called right away, this whole fiasco would have been avoided.

In this technologically advanced age where people can electronically charge beau coup bucks to a random card, the credit cannot be issued until actual voices are heard. Grrr....

Now that I am beginning to calm down, there is a definite lesson to be learned here. How many misunderstandings could be kept to a minimum or avoided completely if we would just discuss things directly with the parties involved as soon as possible? I am as guilty of that as anyone. Someone asks me to do something, I tell them I will, then promptly forget all about it. If I would contact that person as soon as I recognize my error and humbly apologize, the matter would be dealt with and we could move on. Instead, I realize I forgot, then go out of my way to avoid that person for as long as possible, creating an unnecessary strain on our relationship.

During the Christmas season, gatherings occur at least weekly. Each one of these events has the potential to be wonderful or extremely unpleasant depending on the quality of our relationships with the others in attendance. Here's an idea: If there is something I haven't communicated properly about with someone who will be there, I am going to make a point of contacting that person before the event to settle the matter. Eating a little humble pie beforehand will make all those Christmas treats taste even sweeter when we arrive without any bitter baggage to mar the flavor.

I'm off to make a phone call!

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16