A number of years ago I had entered the public practice of Christian Science and was frequently afraid I wasn't going to be able to pay the family bills. We had no savings; one child was in grade school and one was entering junior high; we had a mortgage, food and utility expenses, and several thousand dollars of debt incurred prior to my going into the practice.
Every time an envelope containing a bill arrived in the mail I became afraid. Often I would simply put these envelopes into my desk drawer, hoping that they could be put off until a better time.
One night, about one o'clock, I woke from sleep greatly distressed about finances. I went to the drawer containing all the unopened bills and sorted through them. There were many duplicates, many first and second notices from utility companies, and, to my dismay, a third notice on our water bill. In fact, our water service was to be cut off at eight o'clock that very morning if the bill was not paid. I looked at the amount; we had just enough in the checking account to pay it. But there was resistance to using the money because fear kept telling me if I did, I wouldn't have anything left.
