Encouragement
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While grocery shopping in our local Safeway, my phone alerted me with a special little noise that a text message had come through. I finished shopping, checked out and made the way to my jeep before looking at the message. The question was simple…. When was Doug’s brain bleed? Without delay, I typed the date of 1/2/12 via text messaging to our trusted insurance agent, Bob. I then proceeded to drive home and a tidal wave of emotions and thoughts washed over me – the most dominate being shear gratitude. My husband was granted more life!
My husband and I, along with his brother and his wife, were working through some updated business estate and succession planning during the time that I received this text. We were looking for a new insurance policy on my husband for a buy-sell agreement. The partners each have policies that would enable each of the partners to buy out the surviving spouse/or family if a death occurs.
For both partners, whom had both suffered health crisis – one a brain bleed, the other cancer – the scenarios we discussed were a little too close to the heart. The agreements made with the wisdom of our trusted attorney, accountant, and insurance agent ensures that the surviving business partner would have the opportunity to continue on with the business without having to liquidate everything to settle. The term policy on my husband, Doug, had renewed the prior year at more than double the rate due to his age – the product good, but really too expensive! We discussed the reality of going through the process of health questionnaires and bloodwork which might make it difficult to find coverage at an affordable premium.
It seemed to take a very long time to hear anything from our agent after my husband had his bloodwork done and answered the very detailed questions on health. You know that feeling- can we just please be done with this?! I think the wait seemed longer because we had been in the process of meetings and discussions and just wanted to stop talking – documents updated and signed! I received a couple of phone calls from our agent to assure me that the underwriters for this particular company we were working with to have Doug be approved by was still in process. Approval contingent upon the bloodwork, health history and age of course – Doug’s brain bleed some seven years prior had pages of history.
I definitely understood from a business standpoint the company needing to assess the risk – after all, that’s where the premiums are established. Of course, we prayed over this. So many thoughts crossed my mind on being put into a risk class. We did finally hear back from the company and were thrilled when Doug with all past health history was placed into a PREFERRED rating. I never would have guessed he would have gotten quite that rating. However, we were grateful and the variable contract had a premium that the business could afford, so we thanked God for that!
As I look back over the entire process, my heart was moved deeply to share this experience in brief. Sometimes we don’t want to talk about things that we don’t want to think about or entertain. Death is one of them – losing people we love is painful. I thought quite a lot about what our wishes are when we depart the earth in regards to our children, and their children….and on and on. Legacy. But honestly, for me, in the depths of my heart beyond the tangible…these words were a soul soothe – blood, benefits, beneficiary, acceptance, approval, heirs, extravagant love.
The encouragement I feel compelled to share was that even as we processed through talks about death, beneficiaries, being placed in a risk class with insurance, bloodwork and the story it tells, that I was deeply moved by the word INHERITANCE. In this world, not everyone receives an earthly inheritance. An inheritance is simply a gift. I wish you could hear the song in my heart that gets louder the longer I live – nothing else in this world will ever compare to knowing the ONE who holds our true inheritance. To be approved in the kingdom of God doesn’t depend on any classification or risk factor. In fact, when we accept and welcome Jesus as Lord and Savior, we’ve received everything! We are secure in HIM. His blood type pulses through our beings – and never, ever could we afford to buy his love, acceptance or forgiveness; He gave it!
May we never take for granted what it cost Him to pay for our sin out of His extravagant love for each of us. I ran across this list that was provided during a recent study and love it – what a list! The author couldn’t remember who gave her this list, but she passed it on to encourage us. I don’t know what song you’ve got playing in your heart today, but maybe this will start a new one?! I’m passing it on as well. Believe and receive, friends. Lord, revive hearts as You refresh us with your truth on our IDENTITY and INHERITANCE, we have IN YOU:
· I am a child of God (John 1:12)
· I have peace with God (Romans 5:1)
· The Holy Spirit lives in me (1 Cor. 3:16)
· I have access to God’s wisdom (James 1:5)
· I am helped by God (Hebrews 4:16)
· I am reconciled to God (Romans 5:11)
· I am not condemned by God (Romans 8:1)
· I am justified (Romans 5:1)
· I have Christ’s righteousness (Romans 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21)
· I am Christ’s ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20)
· I am completely forgiven (Col. 1:14)
· I am tenderly loved by God (Jer. 31:3)
· I am the sweet fragrance of Christ to God (2 Cor. 2:15)
· I am a temple in which God dwells (1 Cor. 3:16)
· I am blameless and beyond reproach (Col. 1:22)
· I am the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)
· I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
· I am the branch on Christ’s vine (John 15:1-5)
· I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15)
· I am chosen by Christ to bear fruit (John 15:16)
· I am joint heir with Christ, sharing his inheritance with him (Romans 8:17)
· I am united to the Lord, one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17)
· I am a member of Christ’s body (1 Cor. 12:27)
· I am a saint (Eph. 1:1)
· I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)
· I am chosen by God, holy and dearly loved (Col. 3:12)
· I am a child of the light (1 Thess. 5:5)
· I am holy, and I share in God’s heavenly calling (Hebrews 2:11)
· I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5)
· I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession and created to sing His praises (1 Peter 2:9-10)
I
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