Keep or change?

4:38 p.m. Today's project was to follow up on Saturday's meeting with the Kimberly Crest wedding coordinator with an appointment at the florist and a long conversation with the caterer. Both firms are highly professional, and made solid--and remarkably similar- recommendations, and have taken the time to get to know Heidi and what she wants for her wedding. I also mailed a "save the date" card to Pavel's family members in Romania. Considering that I had unthinkingly placed it in our mailbox with just a regular stamp on it in the morning, the Lord was very good to me. He allowed me to get back home from the florist and remove it before the mailman came, so I could take it to a UPS store for an international stamp. By 9:00, I already had too many things on my mind. Good thing each day begins with the Word of God--I wouldn't make it through otherwise!

The week-changer pictured above is a letter from the Social Security Administration announcing the $115.40 they plan to deduct from Steve's permanent disability benefit for Medicare in April when he's eligible. I had looked forward to saving the $193 in premium I'm paying for him now for our excellent coverage through the school district I retired from. That would have been a real budget boost. However, I didn't think they could just enroll him without our applying for it! As his financial representative, I want to weigh all of the facts before I enroll him.

I was further disturbed by reading at the bottom of the letter that Steve can also enroll in Medicare Part D, the prescription benefit, at additional cost. The premium we pay now includes a very good prescription plan with very low co-pays. As I told the telephone agent who helped me from the Riverside office, "I'm not sure I'm going to come out ahead on this thing!" Oddly, this individual and I have a mutual acquaintance, a school board member I served with for part of my three terms. Riverside is such a small world!

On Wednesday, Steve and I will go in to discuss with the agency how much the Rx plan would cost us, since it's income-based. I'll present my modest pension pay stubs to see what we qualify for. Then I'll pray about and decide whether to switch Steve over. There's not much time to make a decision, since the withdrawals start on April 27 for March 27 coverage; but in another sense, there's plenty of time, because Steve is only 55, and 62 is the "official" age to change from private coverage to Medicare. That's even 3 years away for me.

None of us like sudden change, or any kind of change if the circumstances are painful or stressful. Steve and I have seen drastic changes from 2007 when Alzheimer's began to seriously affect his ability to earn a living, leading to his final firing in 2008. He went from unemployment to State disability, and in 2010 qualified for Social Security permanent lifetime benefits. Meanwhile, to help him and provide companionship, I retired from a long career teaching in Christian and public schools. We entered the "fixed income" lifestyle rather abruptly!

God has been the Lord of all of these changes, whether sad, frightening, painful, shocking, or even gratifying. It has been evident that He has engineered the circumstances to bless us at every step. I had worked just enough years to qualify for a pension by the time Steve began to fail truck driving school and go into depression at being alone. By that time, Heidi and I were gone teaching all day, Steven had moved to Fresno, Sean was attending college full time, Heather was married, and Kriss had lived in Long Beach since 2001.

It was time for me to come home and be the helpmeet my husband needed, and still needs today as his disease progresses.

God put together my vested public (PERS) school board pension with my STRS teacher pension to make it work. An annuity formed a source of supplemental non-taxable income as needed. We have enjoyed a companionship that we haven't had since our days as newlyweds! Gardening, traveling, and Disneyland trips have made for a wonderful two years as younger-than-average retirees. Now that's quite a change, a good one.

Interestingly, "change" has many notable connotations in scripture.

In Malachi 3:6, God says, "I am the LORD; I change not."

Proverbs 24:21 warns, "My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change." (KJV)

Acts 28:6 shows the fickleness of man when the natives of Malta at first thought the Apostle Paul was a murderer deserving of death because a venomous snake bit him,"but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, changed their minds and said he was a god."

Romans 1:25 states that the ungodly "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator"

In Acts 16:7-10, Paul and Silas had plans to go to Bithynia to preach, "but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there." Then came a change of plans, complete with a vision from the Lord, telling them to go to Macedonia. "So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there." (NLT)

The lyrics of a song I just love says of Christian flexibility and obedience, "Where you go, I'll go, where You stay I'll stay. Where you move I'll move. I will follow You."

That is the only way for me to approach the upcoming changes, if indeed this is what God wills. But there is one change believers can all look forward to, mentioned in I Corinthians 15:51-53:

Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

That's my kind of change!