Gratitude Day 596

2 Corinthians 8:15 – Just as the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered too much had nothing left. Those who gathered only a little had all they needed.”

Please do not make the mistake that I made.

A few weeks ago, I went online looking for something. It was an innocent little search. I just wanted a ballpark idea of how much a supplemental health insurance policy for Hubby Rick would be. That’s all. Nothing more.

I went to this site and scanned through the information. There was a box where you could enter some basic information to get a quote. When it asked for your email address, it said, “will not spam you.” I thought to myself, “Good! Just what I’m looking for!”

So, I hit submit.

I knew better than to do this. I should have known there would be some catch in all of this. Yes, there was.

Immediately, I knew that I had made a really, really, really bad decision.

I had BARELY hit “submit” when my phone began ringing. Literally, I’m not sure it was 10 seconds. When it’s a number that I don’t know, most of the time, I ignore these calls. Once in a while, I answer. Just because. This day, I answered. Immediately, this person began asking what I needed for health insurance quote.

Hubby Rick is sitting on a chair in my office, rolling his eyes. We both knew that I had made a mistake.

In the last three or four weeks I cannot begin to count the number of calls I have received about supplemental health insurance. Most of the time, I simply ignore the calls. I have blocked many of these numbers. One persistent company has called back multiple times with just one different digit. I block this new number. Soon, there is another call with one more digit switched.

One day, I was waiting for a call from a real person and answered an unknown number. It was a guy trying to sell me supplemental health insurance. I politely asked that he remove my number from his list. Instead, I received a schooling about why I should buy from him. He has the best policies and he is confident the policy that I bought is a bunch of junk (he used a different word that I won’t repeat) … and on and on and on. This guy was rude with a capital R. After asking several times for him to please remove my name, I finally hung up. Rick did not think I hung up soon enough.

So, please learn from my mistake. DO NOT give your email address or your phone number on an inquiry website unless you want a whole bunch of callbacks or emails. The site I went to was honest and didn’t spam me with emails. Instead, I received dozens of phone calls that I certainly could have done without.

What’s another way you can decrease these calls from coming into your life? Register your number on the National Do Not Call list here: https://www.donotcall.gov/. Make sure and submit your cell phone. Just because you put your number on this list does not guarantee you’ll never get an unwanted call from someone trying to sell you a supplemental health insurance policy or a car warranty or siding for your house. But at least try. Make sure and register your numbers with your state do not call list as well.

Sometimes, I feel bad for the real people on the other end of those calls. They are just trying to do their job. This is why I try to be very polite when I request that my number be removed. One woman was kind enough to tell me that I needed to tell her that I had already purchased a policy … or they would keep on calling me. Yes, I told her a little white lie. I know. I broke my own advice.

This Lent, I’m trying to reduce some of these “distractions” in my life. I’m trying to find more space to be in relationship with God. I’m not saying that putting your number on a do not call list will accomplish this. What I do believe is that it’s OK for us to try and reduce these distractions as we can.

Moral of the story: please, make better decisions than I did. If I could only undo that one “submit” button that I clicked on.

For learning lessons from mistakes, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Dear God – Daily, we make these silly mistakes that cost us time, energy and effort. Sometimes, we just need to slow down and think before we do something silly. May I find that eliminating some of these distractions in my life allow me to find more time to be with You. Amen.

Stop by diannedeatonvielhuber on Instagram today for a few more thoughts about today’s Lenten topic.

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