The Best Riches

{apologies in advance for the super heavy, sappy, overly long blog post...short, quirky ones to follow}



Growing up my Daddy was constantly warning my brothers & I not to accumulate debt.  I remember family dinners where he would adamantly encourage to live within our individual means and take joy  in Jesus, our family & friends instead of swiping a credit card.

I never truly appreciated Daddy's wisdom until recently.  My parents were phenomenal at having intentional honest conversations about financial stewardship and how we are called to live as Christians in terms of our finances.  It is one of the lessons I am most grateful for now as an "adult" with my own household to manage.  When it came time for college my parents sacrificed to ensure I attended the only university I had any interest in but still maintained that I would have a personal stake in education.  I was expected to work part-time & my freshman year I took out some loans to cover the remaining costs of my education.  Looking back I realize I harbored some resentment that I worked afternoons and weekends to help finance the "extra" parts of my college experience but I am so grateful.  My parents were teaching me more than stewardship.  I was learning how to prioritize, multitask and balance a well-rounded, full life that has served me well as an adult.

Upon college graduation I carried, what in today's world, is a small amount of debt.  But after twenty-two years of being my father's daughter and an overwhelming conviction from the Lord to live a financial life that was honoring to Him I began to earnestly pay off my college loans.

Y'all I cannot accurately describe what a truly fantastic husband I have.  Once we were married Coach assumed the financial burden of my college loans with no complaining, no bitterness but with a heart ready to serve, lead & become one.  The past year of marriage he has sacrificed "fun" things he would have loved to take part in, worked an insane number of summer school house, lead our family with a quiet voice but a backbone of steel & kept me focused on the end goal...to be debt free before September 1, 2014.

We reached our goal two weeks before schedule.  Making that last Department of Education payment was as if a weight had been lifted off our shoulders.  God is so good y'all.  This financial freedom of knowing we are living with our means, owe nothing but most of all, that knowing that without the Lord's Divine Provision this would not have been possible is awe-inspiring.  First He blessed me with parents that lived out their faith in regards to finances & worked hard to keep my student loan debt low.  God handpicked a husband who knows how to lead & who feverentley pursues to honor Christ in this way.  And on top of all that, He provided us with careers that made our goal an attainable reality.

Obviously we will not remain debt-free for the rest of our lives.  With the Lord's timing we will purchase a home, perhaps new cars etc. but our prayer moving forward is that we use our finances to honor the Lord & not ourselves.  We are able to focus on what makes us truly rich now...the relationships with those around us, our relationship with each other & most importantly, our relationship with Christ.