Contracts... Agh!!!

Don't you just love signing contracts when you buy a car, house, large appliance, etc.? (Yes, I meant that sarcastically)

Seriously, we have to sign our life away just to get a cell phone these days. It can be very frustrating. Besides the time it takes to actually read the contract (Yes, I really read it), the very idea that there can be so many "terms and conditions" to agree upon is downright ridiculous.

So, I just have to use today's blog to vent a little. I prayed before I began writing and asked God to somehow use this frustrating experience that I am about to share to teach us something valuable. Let's see how it goes...

The Story
Scott and I bought a new Honda minivan in April 2003. We also bought an extended warranty to cover the vehicle maintenance up to 100,000 miles. According to the contract (I strongly dislike that word, right now), the cost of the warranty would be completely refunded to us if we did not use it within the term of the contract.

Everyone knows that Honda makes a great vehicle. The Honda Odyssey has been rated #1 in the minivan category for a long time. So, chances were in our favor that we would never need to use the extended warranty.

One month ago, we rolled 100,000 miles on our reliable minivan and realized that we were going to be able to get our refund, after all. How exciting! It's kind of like tax time when you find out your getting a refund instead of owing the I.R.S. I don't know about you, but I can come up with a list of things to buy before the check is even printed.

After meeting the mileage requirement of the contract, Scott filled out the paperwork and sent in for our refund. A few days ago, we got a letter back denying our refund. Without going into great detail about why the company was wrong in denying our refund, I will simply say that I have never spent (wasted) so much time reading and re-reading the fine print of a contract before. There are a million and one things I would rather read. But I have 4 kids, so I rarely read anything. However, I can now quote that wonderful contract.

After familiarizing myself with the contract, I wrote a letter of reply stating the incorrectness of the reason for our refund denial and am preparing to mail it today. It took 1 1/2 hours to read the contract, another hour to write the letter, and now I am spending my important blogging time to vent about it. All I can say is, "Agh!!!"

"Agh!" Okay, I feel better.

So here's the part when God shows up and tells us what we can learn from my contract experience.

Even though we may have to sign contracts for everything we purchase/ sign up for, there will never be a contract to sign in order to receive the free gift of God's love and salvation. Jesus already signed that contract for us, in His blood. Isn't that awesome? He loves us so much that He gave us the most important gift of all without having to sign the contract. And in the end, it's the only contract that will matter. So, is your name on it? If not, all you have to do is ask, no signature required.

Today I say, "Thank you God. Thank you for using every challenging circumstance in my life to remind me of how much you love me. Even though you may not rescue me from the struggles of this world, the gift of eternity will carry me through them."