If you missed last week’s post by my sister, make sure to go back and catch up. Here, she gives several practical tips to get by during the lean times.
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So how did we survive not having the money to pay our basic bills, and pay off all our medical bills and stay credit-card-debt free? Here are some (it would take a book to explore all) of the things that God has taught us through all of this.
Have faith. I will never forget the payday conversations with my husband: Me: “How much was your check?” Hubby: “$$$”…20 minutes later when bills were paid, Me: “Don’t spend any money. We have $40 in the bank that has to last for 2 weeks.” Hubby: “How are we going to do that?!” BY GOD. That is the only explanation. As stated before, on paper, there is no way we could have been sustained, but God is the creator and the owner of all things. He is so creative in the ways He provides. He always provided the money that we needed (not wanted). We had friends that paid $200 toward our medical bills, we were able to do work for our parents to get paid. Once, our son was sick and needed to go to the doctor on a Monday morning, but I had no gas money or money for the co-pay, and no payday in sight. Should I have been surprised when an older man at church walked up to me and said, “The Lord said I should give this to you.” He handed over $30—just enough for the co-pay and gas! Just enough. That could be our theme for those two years. The Lord is so faithful.
Be Obedient. Alan and I have always tithed as a married couple, and I truly believe that is a main reason God has been so faithful to take care of us. Tithing is a given, but sometimes it’s harder to be obedient to the call of generosity. I remember one day I sat down to pay bills and I felt as if God wanted me to make a donation to the homeless shelter nearby. My first response was, “Lord, we don’t even have enough money to buy groceries, and you want me to help someone else?!” I struggled for just a few minutes because I knew from past experience that God can provide where there is no other way. I wrote the check for some dismal amount such as $30. The very next day, we had a check in our mailbox. Mind you, it was a check from the insurance company we had been expecting, but had been ‘expecting’ it so long that we had forgotten about it. Imagine God smiling at me when I opened a check for over $600 the day after I had obeyed Him in something so small! Coincidence in timing? I don’t think so.
Work Hard. The Bible teaches that all hard work leads to profit (Proverbs 14:23). I don’t think that always means monetary profit, but that hard work will not be overlooked. My husband is such a hard worker. His job doesn’t pay very much, but it has many other “profits”: stable, family-friendly hours, great benefits, great flexibility, two weeks paid vacation, and as their Christmas bonus, they are paid from Christmas Eve until January 2nd without having to go to work! His job has been such a blessing to us. However, he also does side work as well. And in his “down” time, he does the re-modeling of our home so we don’t have to pay a professional to do the work (which turns out to be profit as well!). I, too, in the last few months, have started a couple of part-time jobs in order to help expedite some of our financial goals without sacrificing too much family time. God rewards hard work.
Have a Vision. Did I mention we remodeled our kitchen during this time? Crazy I know, but I’m telling you, God does provide! Through a tragedy, turned to blessing, we had a tree hit our house which allowed us to remodel our kitchen debt free. With this in mind, and with all the other “fix-it-up” projects up ahead, it’s easy to say “no” in the store because I know we’re working toward a bigger goal, such as a new dining room, or a vacation, or whatever. If you have something that you are excited about and working toward, it makes saying “no” to that great deal at the store so much easier.
Expect the Unexpected. Early this spring I had put all my friends and family on alert. I wanted to buy a used plastic slide with 3 steps for our son to play with outside. I was hoping to pay 20 to 30 dollars tops. Normally you can find these things easily at garage sales, junk barns, etc., but I and my “scouts” never came across one. Imagine my surprise when a family from our church that was moving (that did not know of my scheme) asked if we’d like to have their brand new, full-sized, cedar swing set—for free! I look in my yard, in my son’s toy box, and in our closets and realize how generous people have been to us. I think we have spent about $50 on his clothes and toys during his 2 year-life, and the rest has been given to us! God does have a plan when he says, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38) If we are generous, we will experience the generosity of others. Novel idea, huh?
So are we rich and care-free now? Not hardly. I believe for the next few years we will continue our theme of Just Enough. While we have more income coming in, our home has structural problems that must be taken care of, so we are about to start a remodeling project that will soak up all the extra for a while. However, I have faith that God will provide for us just as He always has. As for me, I get to keep bragging on Him for being such a faithful, creative provider.
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Thanks Lindsey! It is fitting that her post appears today. Thanks to my lovely hubby, she and I are headed to the beach for the night without kids! Thankfully, my new book came in the mail yesterday- so I get to actually read at the beach! Yay! Have you read this one?
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I love this. I think Lindsay is going to have to start a blog of her own now, I’ll be her first follower! 🙂