No Secret Numbers Here

Let's hear it for the FAFSA form! Woot!!

*crickets chirping*

Yeah, that's what I thought. We are NOT fans of the form around here, either. Went to visit our friendly tax man today. He is a friend from church, and actually one of my wonderful friends works in his office, so I get to see friendly faces all around. Bonus. BUT, this year we have a graduating senior. That means that we have deadlines that must be met. One of those deadlines includes this dreaded FAFSA form.

For the uninitiated, FAFSA could stand for Families Are Forever Seeking Answers. Or, maybe For Anyone Forced to Surrender Anonymity, because they ask for ALL the numbers in your world. It actually does stand for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Oh, how wonderful!! It is FREE!! I can't imagine that anyone in their right mind would PAY to fill out this form willingly. I can see paying someone ELSE to fill it out, however - ha!

It isn't difficult at all. Just time consuming. And irritating. I find myself not wanting to share all these numbers with them. All this basic information has to be turned in for tax purposes anyway. BUT, since the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education are unable to communicate effectively - we get to fill it all out AGAIN, and then some. If we wait for two weeks the two agencies can share the information. Somewhat. Not all. But, our lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on their part. So, we're filling it out by ourselves the old fashioned digital self-entry way.

I don't like having to share all my personal number information with people who track these details. Where do I see God in this process? Well, good question. With all the numbers floating around in my head - income, dates of birth, assets, social security, etc., it can be difficult to see God in all of that. But, WAIT!! There He is: Our God is a God of details. He pays attention to all of the details in my life. He knows them. Even better than I! God doesn't care what my net worth is (or isn't!), but He knows what it is. And, more than that -- I am worth more to Him than any number on the page of a tax form. (Or any number on a scale, but that is for another blog story!)

God knows the details of how many hairs are on my head! I'm sure He knows all the details of each part of my life. Even my tax forms and my FAFSA forms. I can take comfort in knowing that He already knows. Psalm 44 gives us a little verse about this:

²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
²¹ would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?

He knows the secrets of my heart. Whatever frustration I may be experiencing, I can tell God. Even if it is over irritating tax forms. He knows the details of my heart. I have no secrets from Him. He knows my numbers. He knows. And He loves me in spite of it! Glory!!