I paid our bills yesterday and one of them is a portion of our mortgage payment. I was looking at the balance was surprised. I usually check it once a month, but it slipped my mind in December.  When I checked it today, I was floored. So many things flooded my memory of what we have gone through. Here are just a few;

1. We are a single family income with 5 people that make well below the national household income.  Before the birth of our 2nd child, Sara and I made the decision for her to be a stay-at-home mom.  Sara was miserable at work and she was missing out on all of the milestones with our oldest. She had dreamt for most of her life of being a stay-at-home mom. One day, she came home and was just beside herself about her job. I told her to quit after her maternity leave. On October 6, 2009, Sara became a stay-at-home mom.  When you have three children, the cost never really goes down. There are doctor appointments, dentist appointments, clothes, school, sports, etc. There is no end to the expenses that you have!
   
2. We are debt free minus the house. On February 29, 2012, we paid our final debt off after one of many major events that happened in our lives. In July the previous year, I was involved in a car accident that totaled my vehicle. A few months later, our only means of transportation which was our van blew a head gasket. At this point, I wasn’t making much more than $30,000 annually. Needless to say that we were broke. In the winter, we had someone bless us with a check and asked us to buy a car. It was a good amount for an older, used car. I searched for several weeks and just could not find one that I was at peace. In a last-ditch effort, I put on Facebook that I was looking for a car. I received a message from someone who was selling two and asked if I was interested. They sent me pictures and I was less than impressed. However, I felt that I needed to at least give it a try.

   

   I looked at one of the cars and immediately felt that I was supposed to buy it. I shot him a price and they took it. After writing the check, I drove the car home. Ugly as sin, the car drove like a dream. I got to the house and did our checkbook. I balanced the check that the person gave us with the check that I had just written for the car. The difference between the two left us with plenty left over. I had a thought; “I wonder how much is left over on the student loans?” Looking at the balance of the student loan, we knew exactly what to do. Pay off one of the student loans in full.

3. I was unemployed for eight months and still kept up with our bills. In 2017, I was suddenly let go from my job after nearly 10 years of employment. At this time, we had put back our fully funded emergency fund suggested by Dave Ramsey. I looked for a job and was coming up empty. I decided to go to a job fair at a local college and came across a place that does IT boot camps to help you get certified in the IT field. It was here that I found my passion for IT. I was not working, however, the people sent me to a place where I could get assistance in paying for this boot camp. In the meantime, I sent my resume to a friend of mine who does government contracts with the DOD. It all began to fall into place.
   

   Though I did not work, our bills never fell behind. We depleted the emergency fund. More importantly, God made the money stretch by putting people in our path who helped us financially. It was a long wait, but it was all taken care of.  The fact is our emergency fund was depleted the week I started working. Even to the wire, we saw God’s hand in it all.

I am still in awe of God after looking at this. Only He could do this and He gets the glory!

What has God done for your life that exceeded what you could ever imagine?