A little over two years ago, I sat in a full auditorium participating in Joe Sangl's Financial Learning Experience. One of the first activities Joe had everyone do is write down what dream you would like to fulfill in your life as a result of winning with money. This was easy for me - to pay cash for another adoption. It seemed impossible as I wrote it, but I have learned through many trials and circumstances in my life that NOTHING is impossible for God (especially when I am striving to honor and serve Him).
About one year after this, we had indeed begun the domestic infant adoption process. It was in part an act of faith. We did not have the full funding in the bank when we initiated the adoption, but trusted that God would help us when the time came. Each payment that was required at the start (home study fees, profile fees, etc.), we were able to have the cash on hand! We felt so encouraged! You know what they say, "Success breeds success." Seeing this progress motivated us to continue to be frugal and stash away whatever extra we could. Thanks to this, a few financial gifts, and a good tax refund, we were seeing our savings grow. We were feeling more and more prepared for when the time came to make that big "placement fee."
Every goal you work towards, however, is bound to have its setbacks. Ours came at the end of last summer. Jon was suddenly unemployed. While he did receive severance, it was 50% of his previous take home pay. We had no notice of this abrupt budget change and found ourselves scrambling to make our personal budget viable. We were looking at a severe monthly deficit even with large cutbacks. We knew we had our savings cushion, but the thought of living off our hard-saved adoption money was heartbreaking to say the least.
I spent a season of a couple of months in constant prayer for wisdom and provision. It was daunting to think of finding a new job in the midst of this economy. Jon was still recovering from back surgery which slowed down his ability to seek new employment. I had to wait on the state licensure process to be able to secure employment in my field. It all seemed so depressing after working so hard to win with our money! I often would wake up in the night, sit on the couch with my open Bible, cry, and pray. I felt so hopeless. How in the world would we ever see our adoption dream realized, let alone come up with the average cost of $24,400 in cash?!?
Some time in late September, we received an unexpected phone call from some pastor friends of ours. They had been continually checking in on us during this season and were very concerned for our emotional, spiritual, and financial well being. The purpose of the phone call, other than to emotionally and spiritually support us, was to let us know that they intended to financially support us for three months with the other half of Jon's salary that he was no longer receiving as part of the severance. We were dumbfounded. We were touched beyond words that these men cared that deeply about our family and protecting us from bitterness in a painful season. They were BEING the Church to our family. God truly does SEE everything and provides... even if it is from unexpected places!
We both humbled ourselves around this same time and searched for any local job we could get. Jon worked at the local video store part-time. I took on a seasonal job in a Christmas store. We continued to live off of our stripped down budget through this time. Any surplus we scrounged up, we immediately transferred to our savings account. Our biggest prayer request in order to continue with our adoption plans was for Jon to gain steady full time employment with benefits. We had to be able to show this for our home study update in December or our file would be put on hold (after a year of waiting).
God provided once again in the most unexpected way. Jon received a job offer out-of-the-blue that answered our exact prayers. The income was significantly lower than our previous income - in fact lower than we've earned in about 10 years. The amazing part is that due to our gazelle intensity with finances the last three years, we could work our budget off of this new lower income! I also began part-time work in my field of counseling.
We continued to be little squirrels storing for winter.
And then winter came... February 26th to be exact! A baby girl was born at 35 weeks. I got a call on Leap Day that the birth family had selected us to parent this little girl. Each situation is different and the expenses can vary. We had just heard some stories of very high expenses from other waiting families. We held our breath for the phone call with the balance due for the placement. The call came and... WE HAD ALL THE CASH ON HAND TO MAKE THE FINAL PAYMENT!!! Our dream of paying cash for adoption was realized!!!
Our dream was realized....
in the midst of continuing to aggressively pay off debt
in the midst of saving money for a down payment on a house and paying cash for a few big ticket items (lawn mower, furniture, applicances)
in the midst of abrupt, unexpected job loss
in the midst of a large decrease in take home pay
God partnered with us. He put His super on our natural. He fulfilled Ephesians 3:20 before our very eyes!
***Does this inspire you to win with money? Check out Joe Sangl's site for first steps and free budgeting tools! Don't wait - start today! You can do it!
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