One quiet morning a few weeks ago, I got a call from my sweet friend and ex-business partner, Ali. “Amy, my doorbell just rang…uh, this is crazy but…it was the police…and…they were looking for you.” “WHAT?!! HOLY SHMOLY!! Why?!” Ali said the officer didn’t say what he wanted but that they had her address and had hoped to find me there. She told the officer that I had not worked out of her home in over 6 years (our interior design office was in her home). He told her the address (but no name) of who sent him on this mission and went on his way.
I could only think of two things. The death of a loved one or a subpoena to testify in court for something that God only knew. I checked in on all my family and they were all accounted for. Whew. I googled the other address that the officer gave Ali. I found that it was an attorney’s office (all those years of playing Charlie’s Angels paid off). With my fingers shaking I dialed (okay pressed) the buttons on my phone and asked if they had any record in their office under my name.
I could hear the computer keys clicking. “Did you have an accident on Hillsboro Road in 2011?” “Yes ma’am, I did. An uninsured man hit me head on.” “Well, you owe the rescue squad $900.00 for the ambulance ride to Vanderbilt and they are suing you. There is a subpoena that is going to be served to you.” “Ok ma’am, um…I think I paid that. Could I have a few minutes to try and look up my records and call you back?” She replied “I guess…but I need to hear back from you within an hour” (she sounded like she had been trained on The Apprentice by the Donald).
At this point I am dripping sweat and thinking about how awful my butt will look in horizontal stripes.
I call my husband. We both seemed to remember something a little wonky about the ambulance bill but we have THE worst organizational system in the U S of A. (As in, if I needed to locate my passport within two days or pay a million bucks, I’d be belly up). I’m starting to think of paint colors for my jail cell and wondering how I’m going to explain this to my kids. “Whaa-whaaa-wambulance” had a whole new meaning for me.
My memory can be as bad as my organizational skills but when you’re afraid of German Shephards and you’re picturing riding in his K9 car, things click in. I am talking to myself outloud “Come on Amy, think, THIIINK!”
I knew I had an “accident” folder somewhere with all the info in it but I also put some information on the computer. I went to my email and searched. “Wreck.” Nope. “Accident.” Nope. “Insurance.” Nada. “Ambulance.” BINGO! I had a couple of emails with that title.
Click…
“Dear Mrs. McBride, Chief Ricky at the fire department says your debts been wrote off.”
My arms fly up in the air and I start singing the Rocky Balboa theme song… “Baa-Ba Ba-ba-baa ba-ba-bomp-bababa. Baa-Ba Ba-ba-baa ba-ba-bomp-bababa. Daa-da-da-daa-da-da-daa-BOMP-BOOOMMMP…
( http://youtu.be/Y1Lzhan_DR4 If you need a refresher).
“My debts been wrote off!!” I called the hubz and together it all came back. They were changing billing companies at the time I had my accident. When I called to pay my bill they said they didn’t have a record of it. I told them how much I owed. I guess their organizational skills are like mine and it was easier to write me off than locate the bill. Hah-lay-loo-ya!!! Within an hour I had it all worked out and my fear of using a toilet without a door was over.
“Your debts been wrote off.” Those five words meant so much to me that day. Besides it being a great line for a country song, those words went deeper for me.
Jesus paid a huge debt for me. He paid it all. This is the best gift I’ve ever been given – yet so often I allow myself to be controlled by my fears, my guilt, my pride, and the voices in my head that tell me I have to earn that gift of freedom. I desire to understand more deeply the depth of that gift…and out if that joy throw my Rocky arms in the air and celebrate from the depths of my heart that “My debts been wrote off.”
“Christ has set us free. He wants us to enjoy freedom. So stand firm. Don’t let the chains of slavery hold you again.”
Galatians 5:1
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I can relate to the jail part. The first year in our house in Hendersonville the FBI came to the door one afternoon and told me that I had been identified as the individual who had robbed a branch bank on Dickerson Rd. (I occasionally stopped at this branch on the way home from work). It took about 10 days to clear up the mess but it seemed like 10 years.
You are hilarious. I can't figure out how to subscribe. Must need a computer instead of a phone. At least I know how to comment. Lol
Isn't that how it is with God's word? We hear it, sometimes remember it, but sometimes go for a long time without thinking about it, because we've filed it away and commence to forget about it. Three of my favorite words in scripture are “It is finished”!
Mike, It's the conservative clothes that makes you look guilty. You should get some biker dude clothes.
Three great words, Terri!
Amy you are soooo funny. I love your blog!
Thank you Linda! Great to hear from you:)