This past Sunday Pastor Perry preached about money, explaining the difference between tithing and offering and why it's so important to God and for our walk with Christ. He explained it with a different perspective than I'm used to and it was like a light bulb going off. He then did a live sermon that night called Unleashing Your Finances where he went over 5 steps to free yourself from your finances and debt. Scott and I are having to face major financial issues in the next few months so getting our finances in order is going to play a major part in helping us get through it. Scott & I agreed that, since his paycheck is about to be changed, we'd start in November so it was less complicating. Pastor Perry even mentioned that if we follow these steps for 90 days, something major is going to happen that will cost a lot of money. Something will break, need to be replaced/fixed, etc. Something will happen to test our faith.
Earlier this month we were faced with having to pay late charges on his government travel card, which is a whole other story. Basically, his unit paid his card on time, but somehow the money was put in the wrong account and 4 months later, the bank refuses to waive the fee and the unit refuses to pay the fee and we have to pay it otherwise Scott will be demoted & possibly lose his AGR slot. Anyway, it worked out that I had an extra paycheck last month (thank you 3 Fridays!) and we were able to cover it. That is one of those situations that I usually would stay heated about for days, but thanks to God keeping me calm & my eyes & mind open, He explained things will be ok and helped me notice the extra paycheck. He will provide!
Back on point, another bigger financial situation has hit: a speeding ticket while in a school zone. The lights weren't flashing but the traffic cam caught Scott "speeding". (He was going 33mph in a 25mph school zone even though he was actually going under the 35mph limit.) The price: over $400. Yikes! My immediate reaction was to be upset and say to myself "not again" because we have gone through this multiple times and then some in the past 4+ years of marriage. I told him to fight it because this seemed unfair. I complained about it to some friends asking "WHY does everything dealing with money happen at once?! :(" After reading a few of their replies, God answered me. He's testing my faith. He's seeing if I will trust that He has a plan and things will be ok. Just like Pastor Perry said. I couldn't help but smile when I realized this. I immediately had a sense of peace. I DO trust Him and have faith that He will provide. I have grown up in church but this is the first time in my 25 years that I can recall feeling like this in my relationship with Christ. It's indescribable! I've always heard that if you ask God for patience, He's not going to give you patience. He's going to bring about situations to TEST & GROW your patience. Another light bulb went off. It makes complete sense to me now. We have a lot going on in our life between now and mid-October but I have faith that God has a plan and He will make a way where there seems to be no way. ♥ :)
