Boiling!

This was the male version of me last Saturday. Earlier in the week I called The Student Loan People to payoff one of the groups of our law school loans. When I called to make the transaction, I was very clear to the representative that I was not making a regular payment...that was already in the mail. I asked for the total payoff amount for this particular loan. The man gave me the amount, which was a very random number of course, and told me that I would receive a payoff notification in the mail in the coming weeks. I was so excited! I walked around the house for the next few days singing, "Another one bites the dust...and another ones gone and another ones gone...."

You can only imagine then how I felt when I checked the account online, only to find that they had NOT put the money on that particular loan, that instead he had disbursed the money onto all of the loans (both federal and private) as early payments and thus indicating that no payment was due for the next 4 months. AHHHHH! You may ask, what's so bad about that? I'll tell you, it's the interest rate difference between the federal and private loans. All I could think about was the money we were losing in interest because of their mistake. Really, why in the world would I have chosen such a random amount to pay? Of course I had to notice it on a Saturday when no one was in the office to answer my phone call. I am not very patient when I want to talk to someone and they aren't available. I told Joe I felt so mad, my blood was boiling and it felt venemous! I found a way to email my complaint and left it at that, but I was still as mad as ever!

Next on my list was to finish preparing my YW lesson on Optimism. I didn't feel I had it in me to think about Optimism. I was not feeling positive feelings at all so I chose to go with Joe and kids to Davis to blow off some of my steam. On the way there, I talked myself through things and realized that it was not the end of the world, and that I needed to work on my coping skills, especially since I was going to teach my Laurels the very next day how to deal with disappointments. Because of an experience my mother in law related to me with WaMu, I realized that these types of mistakes usually cannot be corrected, I chalked it up as that and decided I had to get over it. I figured out all of the numbers and realized there were still measures we could take for us to experience a minimal loss. Okay, so by the time we arrived in Davis (about 15 minutes) I was over it.

Today I had it on my list to call The Student Loan People, with a much kinder tone, to see if there was any way to clear things up. I dialed the number and waited for a representative....I decided to check the account online one more time and guess what I found? Drumroll...........the balance for the loan I tried to pay off was $0! YAY!!!! I didn't have to try to negotiate with anyone on the phone. Who knows what happened? Maybe what they did is normal and they always get the money in the right place eventually, maybe my email complaint made the difference, maybe it was a miracle. WHATEVER it was I am now relieved and happy and I think now it's time to properly celebrate! I don't know which is better, my victory in patience or that this particular group loan is wiped out! I think I'll celebrate both!

This thought by President Hinckley came to mind while we were driving to Davis that day. It's one that I repeatedly think of when I experience life's speedbumps. “It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. … If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers” I'm so glad we have a living prophet to give such wise perspective. He's always right!