Monthly Archives: October 2012

Serendipity, Providence, Happenstance, Coincidence… or Alan the dummy still hasn´t learned his lesson and God is gracious and patient and willing to teach. If you read Confessions, recall that the bank gave me $5k in cash that did not belong to me and, in a nutshell, I justified stealing it… but I didn´t (praise God!).

¨Mr. Foster, how much did you expect your tax refund to be?¨  I was on the phone with a Mrs. Johnson of the IRS headquarters. I had called her after our tax refund check had cleared, faithfully deposited by the person that oversees our account while we´re out of the country. I know it´s way late in the year, but I´d succumbed to identity theft, had our returns rejected, mailed in a paper return, a hand written note, affidavit, etc., and previously talked to the IRS on the phone. I´m also not up-to-date on politics and aware that Uncle Sam gives lots of money to undeserving people. (I´m still trying to ramble off a defense for my thoughts and actions.)

I´d like to pat myself on the back and say that it was easier this time… because it was… but the truth is, I stopped to think of all the reasons that it would go undetected and all the ways that I (or you for that matter) could spend it better than Uncle Sam. A google search had shown that, although rare, it does happen, and you can be held accountable, with penalties, for accepting a tax refund beyond your due.

¨No, I can´t remember how much¨ I answered, slyly thinking that I really couldn´t remember the exact amount that we were happily anticipating. ¨Well about how much were you expecting?¨

¨I´m not sure,¨ I lied. There was a pause.

¨Mr. Foster… I had to laugh when I saw how much your return was.¨

Contrary to underlying tone of many sermons I´ve heard, God wants us to do the right thing because of love and trust, not fear of punishment. Honestly, I did not love mailing Uncle Sam a check today for $14,570.48, and my attitude did not undergird a complete trust in God to supply all the needs of my family and I; but it feels good to have a clear conscience now… and a hope that maybe I´ll do better on the next test that comes my way.

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We recently had our first day off here in Canada and decided to volunteer at a local non-profit. If I´ve had your ear in the last year, you probably know I´m sold on dehydrated food, so we thought it was beyond coincidental that a dried food non-profit group is operating year round about ½ mile from our home. Fraser Valley Gleaners is a Christian organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to hungry people around the world. In short, they receive produce from many Fraser Valley farmers, where we are now living, which is deemed unfit for the North American retail market. I must say that every piece of produce I saw was as good as most of what I´ve purchased in the grocery store here… and it was all infinitely better than anything I´ve ever purchased in Panama. This food is cleaned, sorted, sliced, and diced before being dried in industrial food dryers. The final product is a dehydrated mix for making soup which is then distributed to the hungry through reputable channels such as missionaries or aid workers. This brilliance is the work of Carl and Elaine Goosen and a multitude of dedicated volunteers, mostly retirees, but also students. In fact, anyone can stop in and work… and that´s what we did. Where would someone find inspiration for such as this? The Bible! “When you harvest your land, don’t harvest right up to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings from the harvest. Don’t strip your vineyard bare or go back and pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. When you reap the harvest of your land, don’t reap the corners of your field or gather the gleanings. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners. I am GOD, your God.” There are at least 5 similar operations scattered in the major agricultural valleys of Canada. Interestingly, there are none in the U.S. because what they are doing would be illegal. All dehydrated fruit must go through fully automated processing. I can´t imagine Fraser Valley Gleaners without the people.
The video part is 1 min., but if you like the song, check out Josh Garrels.
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