Faith and Financial Freedom

The past few years have been difficult, to say the least, as far as finances go. I quit my career to care for my mother when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease but quickly realized I couldn’t care for her the way she needed, and she had to go to a special care facility. For the next 5 years, I just never returned to work. My husband was deployed in the U.S. Army most of the time, and I was enjoying traveling, having fun with grandkids, and visiting my mother….and amassing an astronomical amount of credit card debt.

Last fall my husband retired from the Army and I went back to work. He didn’t know about the credit card debt I had created, and the fear within me was growing—how in the world would I be able to tell him about all of this debt? I was trying so hard to figure out a way to get us out of this mess, but couldn’t. When he started looking for a new job and nothing seemed to be working out,

“my anxiety just kept growing, I was terrified.”

Turns out, while all of this was going on he had been praying that I would be receptive to attending Financial Peace University at Milestone Church. I was freaking out inside when he asked me to attend with him, because I knew it meant I would have to come clean about all of the debt. I couldn’t sleep and was worried all day, but deep inside I knew what I had to do.

Day 1 of the class we had to identify ALL of our debt. I thought to myself, well there goes my marriage! I knew I had no excuse for what I had done and was overwhelmed by guilt and shame because I had hurt him, lost his trust, and disrespected him. But then the unexpected—my husband didn’t even blink. He just leaned over, hugged me, encouraged me that we would get out of this, and forgave me! He prayed over me and committed to working through all of it alongside me.

“Talk about the miracle of God’s love and grace!”

Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t just been easy since. It is difficult, and at times painful, as we work through all the steps and life change. But through the process of Financial Peace, we started tithing for the first time in years, and have already paid off one of our credit cards. My husband was blessed with an amazing new job through a connection at Milestone—one of the strongest, most generous Christian men we’ve ever met. God has provided for ALL of our needs, and I am communicating and working every day with my husband to honor Him. He is exceedingly above and beyond my imagination, and my faith has been made stronger. The journey is nowhere near over, but I am no longer a slave to credit cards and the fear and anxiety of debt; I am now a contributor to God’s purpose in our lives. I look forward with great anticipation to becoming debt free, and to what God has in store for us next.

— Leisa

 

If you’d like more information on the classes available to help you find financial freedom, check out milestonechurch.com/fpu.