God works in mysterious (financial) ways...
In our marriage, we've had at least a handful of "seasons." The first year was our season for "honeymooning" and adjusting. We were blessed by our parents to have an amazing wedding, a relaxing honeymoon vacation, and first learned how to integrate both of our incomes into one household budget.
We brought no debt into our marriage (Thank you DAVE RAMSEY SHOW) and had a starter emergency fund set aside for rainy days.
With two incomes coming in, we enjoyed many luxuries and dining experiences, and had funds to just play with... pretty much whenever we wanted. Money was not a reason for any of our first year fights, that I can recall... And to top it off, we owned a Condo, so had NO lawn, maintenance, or property issues to attend to.
Carrying that lifestyle with us, we entered a second season of our lifetime together. This season was the responsibility season, where home ownership, landscape management, pet expenses, and fully funding emergency fund became priority. We scaled back, set more aside... and were blessed to be able to pay cash for many of the household improvements and fixes that needed to be done.
Next, we entered into the "baby preparation" season, where we scaled back expenses even further! Living on one income (while still producing two) we ambitiously set aside enough funds to fully fund our emergency fund, and practice living on one income. Our plan was always to bring my wife home from work, after our child was born. And we did.
The season we are in right now is the tightest spending season either of us have ever been in. Not only are we living on one income, but things are breaking (requiring $$$ replacement), and the economic outlook for our single source of income appears to be less than promising. We are forced to make our grocery dollars stretch further than we've ever stretched them, and literally eating beans and rice for meals.
We double think social gatherings with friends and family, filtering the venue decision through a financial "affordability" matrix.
We have essentially forced our money to work extra hard for us...
The season we are in today is not comfortable. It is not easy. It is not enjoyable, necessarily. But to God be the glory.
Romans 8:28 (New International Version)
More Than Conquerors
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose.
In this season, we have truly surrendered our money, our expenses, our future income streams to God. He alone has this worked out, and we will trust in Him.
We do love Him.
We know (today more than ever) what He has called us to do... and we are moving in that direction.
He has revealed his purpose for us, and we follow his leading.
If I take a step back and just look at the fruit that has come from this season's tree, I would totally see that God's hand is SOOO in this!
1. We consult HIM much more frequently with purchases, decisions, and budget amounts!
2. My wife and communicate more than ever regarding our family budget
3. My wife and I have had deeper discussions regarding "Cash Flow" into our home than ever before. --> We are getting on the same page now...
4. A business vision has been born. It is incubating and growing. It is a Calling from God. We hear it, and are doing something about it.
5. Our family has purpose, goals, and vision for the future (in all life areas.)
Though times are a bit tough right now, we know that our God has amazing plans for us. I so appreciate our Heavenly Father for using this season to grow my wife and I closer to Him and His plan for us. He knows that we would default to the "comfort zone" if everything were too easy.
It kind of feels like he is gently pushing us down a path, that we've never traveled before... but know He is our tour guide.
(There is a BIG difference between "travel agent" and "tour guide.")
And so, on we march.
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