About three months ago, I lost my cable service. Each time I attempted to utilize the service, I would get a ‘no signal’ message. At other times, I could get no further than the flashing light on the cable box. At first, it didn’t bother me, as I had experienced that problem in the past, however, it usually resolved itself in time. I am not a great fan of watching television, so it didn’t matter much to me. I tried resetting the modem, but that did not work either.

After a while, I grew more concerned, as I had paid the bill, but was not getting the service. It was time to report the matter. Alas, it was an exercise in futility, as the artificially intelligent robots were not intelligent enough to understand the issue with my service. I tried to make a report on WhatsApp and the Flow App, but to no avail.

I decided to make another try and this time, thankfully, I was able to connect to a live agent on January 16, who advised that the issue could not be fixed remotely, and so a technician would call me within 7 to 10 days to make arrangements for a site visit. I am still waiting…..

Tired of waiting, I made a report on Flow’s Facebook page and after receiving a profuse apology, I was advised that my issue would be dealt with in the shortest possible time. Yeah, right….. So much for good customer service.

One day I had a lightbulb moment! If I could do without the service for three months and did not suffer any major harm or inconvenience, except for the poor customer service, then I could certainly do without it! If I wanted to watch the news, I could do so on 1Spot Media free of cost. I could save that monthly $8000 for other more important expenses.

A week ago, I contacted my insurance agent regarding a critical illness policy that I had opened years ago but had not increased the monthly premium. She advised me that to become eligible for increased benefits, I would have to pay about $7000 monthly. At first, I thought, ‘wow…where will that extra money come from’? The answer? The extra funds I will have in hand as I have decided to cancel the service, and to withhold this month’s payment because I would be paying for a service that I did not receive. No more money down the drain. I wish I had realized sooner, but better late than never.

What seemed to be a problem at first, turned out to be a blessing in disguise, the silver lining in the cloud. I realised that I could do without cable service and had wasted money over the years on a service which I hardly used. The Lord was showing me that I could be a better steward of my financial resources. That money will be better spent on preparing for any health eventualities in the future. Lesson well learnt! Thank you, Father, for your direction and leading!