At the beginning of this year, Hero Hubs and I looked our financial situation square in the face, and had no idea how we were going to make it. We were still figuring out the cost of living in South Africa and the amount of income committed to us by our monthly partners did not look like enough for us to make our budget. And our budget is a bare minimum one – pretty much the least that it takes for us to live here in SA (in a safe place with a car and health insurance) and make ends meet.
We wondered if we were going to have to go back to the States for an extended period to try to raise additional support.
We’re a rather organized couple for the most part, so we began listing out the options we felt were reasonable possibilities for moving forward. We thought about trying to move to a cheaper place in order to pay less rent, but we were in the middle of a contract and that didn’t feel right. We considered that one of us could look for extra work part time, but we just didn’t have a peace about that either. We thought we might have to go back to the US to raise more support, but we’d only been here four months and that just didn’t seem right either. There were a few other options on the list, and we put them all down in front of us, probably in an Excel spreadsheet. Finally, almost jokingly, we thought, “We have to add the possibility that the Lord wants us to do nothing.†In our minds doing nothing seemed like the least likely of options.
Then we prayed together and prayed on our own and spoke with our colleagues Stateside. We both came away feeling the Lord was saying: Do Nothing. Stay the course. Watch Me do something.
We weren’t about to argue with the Creator of the Universe, as senseless as that option seemed, so we stayed the course, and while keeping our eyes open for opportunities He might present, we made no changes.
A couple days ago HH and I sat down to look at our finances. This is a regular occurrence in our household. He has created an incredible Excel spreadsheet with tabs for expenses, income, bank accounts and balances…it’s seriously phenomenal. It takes into account the bank accounts we have in three countries and even the exchange rates for the three currencies we have to work in. Sorry, this story isn’t about the amazing spreadsheet, but it is honestly a thing of beauty.
As we sat looking at the magic spreadsheet, now in June, we can see that our income has exceeded our expectations every month. Somehow we have managed to pay off about $3,000 of debt (paying off Mr. Potato Head), we’ve been giving generously, and we have never missed a meal. Even HH, who knows the ins and outs of the magic spreadsheet looks at it and says, “I don’t really even understand how we’ve done that. The numbers don’t even make sense.â€
We have some good friends who’ve just moved to Boston, and sometimes when one of their kids has a “freak out/tantrum/throw a fit†moment, they’ll calmly ask: “Is there any reason to freak out?†On one particular occasion I was around to hear their oldest little girl respond, “No. There’s no weason to fweak out.â€
And in my mind I’ve stored that moment, because I need to hear it myself: Caroline, there’s no weason to fweak out.
Although at the beginning of the year HH and I were almost fweaking out, being unsure about how we were going to make it, the amazing Creator of the Universe has showed up and blessed us in exceeding abundance. We’ve had new clothes to wear. We’ve had plenty to eat. We’ve had provision at the moments when we needed it most.
Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the moment, to fweak out about what seems like an impossible situation, and to feel like you just have to react…you just have to do something. But sometimes, the very thing God is asking us to do is Not to fweak out, and to trust Him.
If I can tell you anything about this today, it’s that we’ve trusted Him this long, and He hasn’t once let us down.
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Thank you so much… this has blessed me so much and is so true! As a family, we are going through a similar situation with God saying WAIT, CHILL, WATCH, “I will provide”. It is so hard as our every instinct cries out to make other plans – to side step a leap of faith and take things out of His hands into our own. How silly! Thank you for your candor in the writing of your blog. I read it daily 🙂
Hi Nicola, I am so glad you were encouraged and it is a blessing to hear that you’re a regular reader. I occasionally wish I had a microphone to tap and say “Is this thing on?” 😉 I look forward to reading stories of how the Lord shows up for you! Please come back and tell me!
Hey Caroline! I know this feeling very well. We too have immaculate spreadsheets and each month when we sit down to look at them we are astonished… we don’t know how it works out! Thank you thank you thank you for reminding me once again that we can simply stand and watch the Lord provide for us 🙂 Exodus 14:14 is an excellent little reminder on this 🙂
That is encouraging, Charissa! I am glad this was a good reminder for you. I probably need to bookmark it and come back and remember it again in a month or two! 🙂 He is faithful!
We also enjoy a good fweak out from time to time. Thank you for this lovely reminder, to keep the fweak outs to a minimum and the faith set on max!
More World Cup photos pwease!
LJ
Hi LJ! I don’t know if I have any World Cup photos for you! I don’t have tickets! I can take pictures of us watching on TV… 🙂 But perhaps I will get to take some pictures of some of the buzz and excitement in the area over the next few days…the flags going into Cape Town? The side view mirror warmers? Vuvuzela-laden fans…! I’ll try to gather some precious shots and do a special Travelling Tuesday just for you! xCC
Good reminder to all of us that we really aren’t in control.
This is so great, Caroline. What a great testimony of God’s faithfulness. I will remember that one liner about–Is there any reason to fweak out?
Thank you!! Hope things are great in Greenville. Hoping I can keep remembering that one-liner in the moments when I need to remember it most! 🙂
Great, great, great post! Really encouraging!
Ok I hope this comment doesn’t get too long but I’ve had this post marked “keep unread” in my google reader on my phone so that when I got to a computer again, I could share.
Like you and your Mark, me and MY Mark also have an amazing spreadsheet for our budget. Seriously it’s like 10 tabs, each with about 20 columns and 40 budget line items. It’s awesome.
ANYWAY our strict budget is the result of a 2009 new years resolution. Towards the end of 08, we both felt a weighing on our hearts saying we needed to re-vamp our finances (which were already in ok shape, but clearly God was telling us we needed to do better). Definitely God knew what was in store for us last year and put that sense of urgency on our hearts, even though we had NO CLUE at the time what was about to happen!
Specifically, we needed a bigger “just in case” cash reserve. So we re-planned our budget to set aside an extra $1000 per month, to build up that account.
Ok first — I don’t know how we even got that PLAN to work. I still am not clear on how we came up with an “extra” thousand bucks a month, even on paper. Miracle #1.
Then, we had to drop $6k on a new hvac system, $3k on an surprise pregnancy (we had just switched to a high-deductible insurance plan), and THEN because of the second baby on the way, I left my job halfway through the year to be a full-time homemaker. In case you’re doing the math along with me… that’s LOTS of unexpcted expenses… and less income to pay them with, much less save any extra.
But after all those extra expenses AND the loss of one income, we still had that “just in case” account fully funded…. by September. It didn’t even take all year. Miracle #2. (Well, #3 if we’re counting the birth-control baby who is now one of the best things in my life… which we totally should.)
And not only did we get that reserve account fully funded, we managed to pay down all our debt (cars, student loans, etc) except our mortgage. Financial miracle #3.
No matter how many times we look back at last year and try to figure out what happened, it doesn’t make sense. We look at our spreadsheet, we look at the bank balances, and it shouldn’t add up. BUT IT DOES. God is crazy. Crazy awesome.
Ok so it was a long comment after all. But since we had been through something so similar, I just HAD to share what God did for us as well. Amazing.
Thanks so much for taking a moment to share that Erin. SO encouraging. I am likely to come back and be reminded again. 🙂 May the Lord continue to do exceeding and abundantly as we keep following His lead! xCC
caroline, thank you again! such a good reminder. and whenever you’re next in edinburgh we’d LOVE to see you. : )