Here is something we can probably all agree about...
There is no squeeze quite like a financial squeeze.
Over the years, Susan and I have had some "touch and go" moments financially and we have certainly felt that pressure that comes from bills and financial uncertainty.
- I think about all the bills that come with raising a family.
- I think about, yet another set of braces.
- I think about trying to alternate years between unpayable insurance premiums and years of unpayable deductibles.
- I remember things like a broken car window or a trip to the dentist might turn over our entire financial apple cart.
- I remember many trips to visit my aging parents that had no line in our family budget.
- I remember the decision to go back to school for my doctorate and the costs of that decision.
- Twice we have had houses that seemed like they would never sell, one of which we sold for a loss (that never happens).
- We had three straight homes where our HVAC led us to pray for as many cloudy days as possible.
- And then Susan was diagnosed with cancer. Chemo, radiation, three different surgeries. Only to be followed by both of us being out of work for six plus months.
Oh, we have felt that grip of financial anxiety creep in.
How did we handle it?
Not perfectly, that's for sure.
But I do remember some decisions that we made when we were newlyweds, probably the first time we had one of those financial moments. We determined to do three things --
1. We would honor God with our finances by giving back to Him in a meaningful way.
For us this has always been a tithe and a bit more. It is unreasonable to ask for God to be generous with us, when we are stingy with Him.
2. We would do the best we knew to do with what we had.
We tried to not push our lifestyle to the limits of what we could afford. A little breathing room has been helpful over the years.
Sometimes, that has meant carrying some debt. Those were some "have to" moments. At times, that meant paring back some things we really valued for a season.
3. We would trust God over the long term.
We were in His hands and we trusted Him to care for us.
This would be most true when we had lived out the previous two commitments.
Looking back (and ahead) life hasn't been perfect.
We haven't been perfect.
But He has been faithful every day!
Do you have a story of God's faithfulness?
Tim
