The Worst Season is Over

Most people don't understand that tax accountants have two busy seasons -- April and October (or March and September for those who concentrate on corporate tax). October 15 is usually a difficult date for my firm (as it is for many others) as there are no more days for delay. No more extensions. No more tomorrows. No more anything. Which is also a good thing -- the deadline arrives, and like it or not, we're done.

Or at least we were, until this year. This year was the worst possible busy season ever. Up until now, October 2001 was the worst. In 2001, we were completing the 2000 year tax returns. The year 2000 was the last year of the Dot Com boom (the beginning of the end) and a lot of people made a lot of money in the late nineties and in 2000. The problem was that in 2001 they lost a lot of money. Budgets became very tight very quickly. People didn't want to pay for us to spend the time that we had to spend in order to get the more complicated 2000 tax returns correct. Added to this were a number of factors -- clients didn't want to think about the past and thus were late getting us the data; the data was late coming from other sources (partnerships, etc.); and then there was the emotional upheaval of September 11, 2001. Business as usual wasn't.

The night of October 15, 2001 we had clients waiting in our lobby. They were waiting for me to approve the calculations and press print on the returns so that they could sign them and then we would make a run to the airport post office, which is open until midnight. With only a few minutes to go, I still had three clients waiting. It was awful. The paper was so fresh from the printer as they signed their names that one client got a little burn on his finger.

We swore that we would never do that again. And for six years we were usually finished by October 14 (with a couple of fires to put out on the 15th). We were sure that with proper planning and hard work, we could always make it happen.

About a month ago, we thought this year might be more difficult than usual. But up until a week before the deadline, we thought we could handle it. But with seven days to go, we had 50 returns still to complete and the man hours required came to more hours than what was available in a week's time, and that was without accounting for sleeping and eating.

Our staff meeting was not a happy one. As I am the managing associate, I felt and received the majority of the blame for our impending doom. I had been working 12 to 18 hours a day for over a month and still we were in trouble. Again, several factors led us to this point -- clients procrastinating, late data from underlying partnerships (and VERY complex partnerships at that), the death of my boss' father-in-law (which took him out of commission for about a week), and a lack of staff (we have been short-handed all year). I went home the next morning around 6 or 7 and before collapsing into bed, prayed with all my heart for a miracle. I told God that I knew He could perform a miracle on our behalf, even if it meant sending an angel with a background in tax accounting to help. I was impressed to NOT ask for an angel to come down, which I thought was an odd impression, but I obeyed and simply replied that I knew that He knew our predicament and that I would leave it in His hands.

I arrived at the office around 3 pm later that day to find out that my associates had been on the phone calling in favors all morning. We would be receiving the help of two very qualified individuals for the better part of the week and most especially on the weekend. We had to pay them an exorbitant hourly rate, but we did so willingly, knowing that less profits for us was preferred to no profits at all (which would happen should we fail to provide the returns to our clients before the deadline). We prioritized the remaining clients by geography (furthest away got first attention as their returns needed time to get to them) and travel schedules (many were traveling around the deadline date).

That final week was very tough. But the bottom line is that we basically made it. There were three clients who did not get filed on October 15. All three agreed to file late, mostly because they knew that their tardiness in providing us the data had led them to this point. At the moment I am taking a break in between completing two of those clients (the third still owes us data, but is currently travelling in China for work).

Most importantly, though, I need to exclaim that our Father knows us, cares about us, and provides miracles in our lives. No, this miracle wasn't about feeding thousands with a single loaf of bread. Nor were any lame made to walk. But I didn't need to be healed of lameness, blindness, or hunger. I needed help of a different sort. And while it doesn't make for compelling writing or reading, it was a crisis in my life and He provided the miracle.

Of course, there are those who would say that the help came from friends and family. And they would be correct to a point. But what influence came into those friends' lives to prompt them to give up their nights and weekend to help us? Was it just the financial incentive? I don't believe that it was anything less than a caring Father in Heaven making the way possible for them to come to our assistance. And His plan was probably set into motion some time ago, as He already knew what I needed long before I asked. But He didn't inspire us to make those calls until it became desperate and I found myself on my knees pleading for a miracle.

There is a print of a painting in my home that depicts the Savior pulling Peter out of the water. This is the end of the "walking on the water" story in Matthew. I like this rendition as the artist shows the tendons and veins on the arms. Jesus' hold on Peter is not a limp handshake, but a grasp of His hand around Peter's outstretched forearm. There is desperation and strength and effort shown. It shows the Savior PULLING Peter out of the stormy water, not just lending him a hand for him to grab at (and maybe miss). And then comes the Savior's words, "Wherefore didst thou doubt?". Was this a rebuke regarding Peter's faith to walk on the water or was it a rebuke regarding his faith in the Savior to always be there for him? After this past month, I can at least apply the latter idea to my own life. Why did I doubt that He would help me, even when my problems, while large to me, are so small in comparison to world events and issues? Why do we not think that God cares about us individually and that He knows what we need and want, however insignificant in the grand scheme of life?

And yet that is the point of knowing our relationship with God. He is our Father. There is nothing I wouldn't do for my son, however trivial or odd. And I know that my own father would have done anything for me had I asked him. Well, then the words of the Savior come back to us -- Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matt. 7:9-11)

So it is once again that I learn that God cares for me like a Father. I have always known this and yet these events in my life continue to bring this point home. Maybe that is what we (or at least I) need to learn -- we need to understand our relationship with God. We need to know that He cares about us, individually and personally. And that He knows our struggles and weaknesses and only wants us to succeed in life and beyond. I mean, what do you want for your children? What would make you the most happy to see them achieve or accomplish? So it is with our Heavenly Parents and with our Older Brother. I know how much I care for my siblings -- would Christ's love be any less? Of course not. In fact, it is a billion times more potent. I know that I am happy when I see my siblings succeed. Of course, Jesus is happy to see us succeed. And succeed in everything that we do in righteousness. It doesn't have to be just "church" work, but in all aspects of our lives. They want us to be whole and perfect. And that means in one's profession and in one's family and in one's standing with all of God's children and creations.

God grants miracles in our lives. They serve many purposes, but this one is common -- they confirm to us that He loves us. He has the means to save us, even from our own mistakes and foolishness. And He is always willing to do so. All we have to do is ask. Sometimes, like Peter, it is with desperation and a cry, "Lord, save me!" And sometimes the help comes with a loving rebuke, "Wherefore didst thou doubt?" But He is ALWAYS ready to grasp our arm and pull us from the stormy sea. All we have to do is ask.