The Good Thing About Taxes and Other Frustrating Government Forms

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Subject: Week 67 – A Taxing Time With Jesus

Dear Praying Friends,

I have been wanting to write to all of you since last Wednesday and feel a little bit like St. Paul in his letter to the Romans: “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now)…” Now, at last, I am seated before my computer, five days later, tapping out a message on my keyboard.

First, I want to thank everyone for your prayers for Emma. Her fever broke the night I sent the emergency prayer request and she was able to participate in all planned activities for the remainder of the Florida trip. Her team received trophies for each of their three competition routines (3rd for prop, 2nd for military, and 1st for high kick). Some of her team mates even came up with a little song they sang several times over the course of their time in Florida (“Captain Emma. She’s our hero!”). Lots of good memories being made.

Last week, as Emma was packing for Florida, she casually said, “Oh, yeah. Mom, I need you to go online and submit my FAFSA form while I’m gone. The deadline comes before I get back.”

“The FAFSA form?” I asked, my stomach already knotting.

“Yeah, just finish it up and send it in,” she said, cheerfully innocent of the knowledge that filling out government sponsored financial aid programs for college students is only slightly less stressful and complicated than, say, performing brain surgery.

“Sure, honey,” I said behind my bravest smile. The valiant effort to disguise my terror did not, apparently, fool my astute and observant daughter.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing really. Maybe we could just pull up the website before you leave to see if there are any details I might need you to help me with,” I said with nonchalance, acutely aware of tiny blood vessels bursting beneath my skin.

We got online and I looked over the material.

“Oh, looky here,” I said cheerily. “They need to know about my 2002 taxes. I guess I’ll just have to figure out my taxes, too.” Oh no. This is too much. More government forms. I had planned on adhering to the Scarlett O’Hara Tax Return System until April 14th: “I won’t think about that now. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” This changes everything!

A couple of hours later, Emma headed off to begin her Florida adventure and I waved good-bye, assuring her I would take care of everything before she got back. You remember the old roadrunner and coyote cartoons? Remember the expression on Wile E. Coyote’s face at the moment he discovered the anvil meant for the roadrunner was now flying in his direction? Yeah. That was me.

Fortunately, I realized I needed to tackle this federal form marathon with the same approach I use when faced with a new knitting pattern. I know, the connection is so obvious. Knitting–government forms. How could I have missed it? Of course, a mistake on a knitting pattern has very little potential for a prison sentence, but other than that they are practically the same thing, right?

So, I applied knitting instruction principles and focused just on the part I understood. I didn’t worry about the part coming up that seemed to be written in a cross between Pig Latin and German, but trusted, instead, that I would figure out what to do about that when I actually got there.

When I picked up my happy but exhausted daughter at the high school five days later, the paperwork was behind me. With only a few panic-stricken phone queries to sensible Kristyn, and an unexpected phone call from “Fred” that came in the middle of my I-need-Emma’s-Driver’s-License-number-right-now-and-she-has-it-with-her-somewhere-in-an-amusement-park-in-Florida crisis (he came to my rescue with a suggestion that I check our car insurance policy), I had completed the forms and submitted them, believe it or not, two days before the deadline! The most amazing part of all is that this was achieved without even one tear. Imagine. Taxes without tears!

You’re wondering how this is possible, aren’t you? I mean, the knitting instruction approach, as wise and insightful as it is, can’t be entirely responsible for the calm and dignified way I overcame the terrors of government forms. Well, I have to admit you’re right. There is more to it. The secret is this:

Whenever I got to a question that was confusing, I did my best to answer accurately and honestly and I reminded myself that whether the FAFSA people find a way for Emma to go to college or the IRS people find a way for me to go to prison, it’s all in God’s hands. All these things, as crucial and distressing as my stomach may believe them to be, are only temporary. Just a small thread woven into eternity that, light or dark, will be a part of a beautiful bigger picture. I turn again to 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

And another favorite…

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

As I tackle federal forms, or finances, or developing dance programs, or seemingly insurmountable pain… Whatever this life brings, however weak and foolish I may be… I am not too weak when I remember, along with St. Paul: “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” Or as Jan Caron puts it in her Mitford series, “Philippians 4:13 for Pete’s sake!”

May the Lord bless each one of you, my dear friends.

Trusting in Him,

Rachel

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY

In late fall of 2001, Rachel Wilson, a ballroom dance teacher living in the small mountain community of Pine Lake, California, discovered her husband, Ben, in an extra-marital affair. Her initial response was much as might be expected—tears, anger, despair, thoughts of revenge and more. But, through a series of unlikely events she was led to an unexpected response – a 70-week journey of prayer with friends.

She wrote an email asking if anyone would commit to praying for her family for 70 weeks, not supposing many would agree to such a long endeavor. To her surprise, more than forty said yes.  

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Author’s note: In case there’s something bigger taxing you

I made light of Rachel’s taxing time with government forms in the story above. Just a few days after it was over, this character was able to see humor in the situation. But that isn’t true of everything that taxes us, is it? Look up synonyms for taxing and here are a few of the words you might find:

arduous, burdensome, challenging, demanding,

exacting, grueling, killing, laborious, onerous, toilsome

Not very funny words, are they?

I do try to employ humor to make light of my trials. In fact, I like to make molehills out of mountains whenever possible. There are times, though, when I’ve faced a few mountains too arduous, grueling and killing for even my sarcastic optimism.

Maybe, with the passing of a decade or so, I will be able to look back at those onerous things and laugh, but I seriously doubt it.

Dip into the synonym-well for onerous and words like brutal, cruel, excruciating, grim and grievous will explain why I think it unlikely I’ll ever muster a smile, let alone laugh, over certain hard things no matter how much time passes.

When a precious relationship is torn asunder,

when a precious person is ravaged by illness,

when a precious dream is ripped to shreds…

These are taxing in ways best described as killing.

In time we may recover, to a degree, but with sorrows that push into infinite depths of despair, tongue-in-cheek exaggerations lack even the tiniest ring of truth.

When wrestling with taxing things of the more onerous variety, a knitting instruction analogy for handling a taxing time, would surely offer more annoyance than encouragement.

If that is the case for you today, perhaps, you’ll appreciate those instructions quoted above from Philippians. Words that offer far more than a lighten-up chuckle, or an understandable explanation.

Words that bear repeating.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And so, along with Saint Paul, I encourage you to bring your most taxing issues to our Lord that you might somehow rejoice, pray, give thanks, and rest protected in the unfathomable peace of God.