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Thursday, March 31, 2005

Our taxing time

It's coming down to the wire at the tax office. Yesterday I worked the afternoon shift so Dawn could get to church, and she had already had a harried day. One woman was in tears because she had expected a refund and was owing this year. Another woman was stoic about the thousands she owed, even though her husband was in poor health.

Not only is it crunch time, but it seems people who owe money to the government are coming in late in the tax season, as they are in no hurry to find out or to pay what they may owe. Early on in the season, we could be givers of good news as people smiled at their refunds. Actually, coming out close to zero or owing a little bit is not bad news--it means the government had less of our money during the year to play with. But people seem to plan for big refunds and have projects or vacations on money they get back from Uncle Sam or the state they live in.

I hope that tax time reminds me to be a good steward of what we have--to pay to Caesar (Uncle Sam) what is Caesar and to God what is God's. Planning during the year is a good thing, so we can use our money wisely at that time and also to avoid paying a big sum to the government on April 15. (I speak as a member of a self-employed family who pays quarterly--so we really see how much and where our dollars go.

However, after all this talk in my blog, we have yet to sit down and prepare our own taxes. Tim's pretty good with money and has been careful to send in quarterly payments, so I'm hopeful things will turn out well. But, all things are in God's hands, and ultimately, he is the one we trust in. Whether we're getting refunds or writing a check on April 15--God is in control.

Till next time,


Suzi

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