Thanking God for Utility Bill Help Today in Unexpected Way

I have been steadily chipping away at my fixed expenses. I am living frugally. My electric power bill for the past 7 months shows graphically that every month, my usage is far less than the same month the previous year. 

Little by little, I paid down the overdue balance that had accumulated because of financial issues. I was so proud of that. 

Then I opened my bill over the weekend and found it was almost double what I expected. It took me a while to find the one line that caused the large amount. They had hit me, quietly, with a $140 deposit charge. 

I wasn’t told - I wasn’t called - I received no notice in the mail.

When I was on hold today, waiting for an agent to help me with this new mess, I prayed silently for help on this. There is no way I can pay that amount this month. As it is, I can’t pay all the bills.

The agent was very patient. She even talked to her supervisor. The supervisor explained that they could ditch the deposit if I agreed to an automatic payment every month. There’s no way I can do that. If something like this occurred out of the blue, as this did, my rent check could bounce. I can’t take that chance.

They did agree to payment arrangements. My heart sank at that news. Yes, that is helpful. But I had just finished the last of the former payment arrangements and here I was beginning all over again.

The agent also said that if I had read my bill, it does say that if an account is late in paying for a certain length of time, a deposit may be required. I never noticed that. It still would have been compassionate if they had at least sent me a few sentences in a form letter.

I wonder how many of my friends know what all that fine print is on their card statements. We never read that stuff - or at least most of us never do. I remember when my stepdad passed away and my mother expected their credit card debt to be wiped out because they had signed up years earlier for some kind of death-protection, and paid a small monthly fee for that. Turns out the fine print said something regarding this being cancelled at age 70 - she was 72 at the time. 

Anyhow, I am grateful that my prayers were answered. At least I was talking to someone who tried everything. This agent at least explained everything, also. And she made arrangements that will help, even if it does mean I am back to square one with installment payments.

Father, thank you for that help today. I know you will show me the way to take care of these debts, each in its own time, each in its own way. Thank you for helping me remain reasonably calm and stress-free during these troubling times.  Give me the strength to keep going forward and the wisdom to hear your voice advising what I need to do each step of the way. And bless that agent, please, for her help.