It's interesting. Despite the truth that we are far better off than many would be in our situation, I find myself often giving in to fear, rather than living by faith, or hope. Part of that fear is fueled by the chaos here in America and around the globe. It worries me (always has) that we are not secure in our person(al) situation, our property, or our papers.
It's interesting, this inclination I have to discard faith and dance near fear, because I've done my share of 12 step programs. I know that sometimes you just have to "Let Go and Let God." An acquaintance of mine recently wrote on his blog about trusting in God, rather than trusting solely on your own strength (ok, he wrote more than that, but that's my take away.)
I tell a friend of mine frequently, that I would feel more secure if I owned my own home. Or was debt free. But as I reflect on it, that's not really accurate either.
I know someone who lives in Michigan (yeah, I'm talking about you !!!) who if I recall right, managed to become debt free except for his house while being unemployed for a year. That's living by faith !! I know someone who lives in Oklahoma who not only survived but thrived when her husband and son were both unemployed for 18 months. That's living by faith !
I'd be interested to hear your comments about how you have lived by faith rather than fear. Doesn't have to be monetary, or religious. Just wondering how you keep your sanity, while all about you are losing theirs <grin.>
Long story alert!
ReplyDeleteMy husband spent 21 months unemployed. I have to admit, when he first lost his job, I was totally panicked. We eventually settled down, and there are a few things that really helped us get through that time. First of all, we had no debt. Even our house was paid off, so we didn't have as many bills to pay, so it was easier to manage what bills there were. Second, I had an excellent food storage, so I could cut back to buying just fresh foods and a few bargains to replace some of what we were using. Third, we tried to keep life somewhat normal. For the first 2 months, my husband asked me not to buy anything not absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, that approach left me panicked and guilty every time I bought a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread. Then we figured out a budget, which helped tremendously, even though it was 1/4 to 1/2 what it was before. It helped me to have a set amount I was allowed to spend, even if it wasn't much. We mostly lived on unemployment, except we pulled money out of savings to pay for our COBRA insurance. It was a good thing we did, because almost a year later my husband required emergency surgery, and then had complications, and ended up in intensive care for 13 days, and was in the hospital for over a month. During that time and for several months after, we couldn't even get unemployment (you have to be capable of working to get unemployment). When he could finally resume his job hunt, his age was increasingly a problem (he was 58 when he lost his job, but we weren't quite in a position to just retire yet). I finally started changing my prayers from "please help us find a job" (which was looking increasingly unlikely), to "thy will be done", and shortly after that, he received a job offer. That was a challenge in itself, though. They wanted him to start work in 3 weeks, and we had to move 1800 miles for the new job. We flew out, found an apartment, then went home and packed enough stuff for him to move into the apartment, and drove a rental truck 1800 miles. Then I went back home to finish packing the rest of what we needed, and he joined me at Chistmas 6 weeks later, and we drove another rental truck out. We left our kids, grandkids, my mother, his brother and sister, and a brother and sister of mine. So it has been hard.
I guess my very long story is basically saying, Prepare as much as you can, including getting out of debt as much as you can, and then rely on God, because we never know what our challenges in life will be. It probably won't be easy, but we can get through it with the help of the Lord.
So you have crossed the Sinai and had enough strength to make it over the Jordan. My deep respect !!
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