Sometimes it takes a
more than one wish to grant a Lenten promise! Lisa learned that sometimes it
takes six weeks to break old habits and create new ones; just perfect for Lent!
Beat your head one more time against the wall… It’s Lent,
it’s Lent, it’s Lent. I have to stop (fill-in-the-blank), whatever bad habit
I’m doing.” I need to (fill-in-the-blank)
more!”
One evening close to
Lent, my husband and I were working on bills and discussing ways to make it
work. Nothing was coming to mind. Somehow we were buying groceries, paying
bills by installment but I could not write a plan that we could look at and
know, okay this will be paid off here and that will be paid on there. I wanted answers from God when things would
start to look better for our financial future. But the more I ‘demanded’ the
worse everything looked!
Finally, I looked at my husband and just said, “We’re
getting nowhere on this, I am just going to give up worrying about it for Lent.
It’s only six weeks, we won’t go totally broke by then. I just need to get money worries out of my
head for a while.” He was actually
relived I had suggested it. Because
honestly the more I worried and stewed about it the worse he felt as the main
breadwinner. He felt like he wasn’t bringing home enough to cover everything.
So we began our Lent with me just paying the bills like
usual, but then putting the checkbook away and moving on to enjoying our time
with each other and the kids. We played
outside, we went for walks and really laughed and had fun with family.
By the end of Lent, I was so used to not worrying about
money, I had just gotten into the habit of paying what needed to be paid, and
walking away, that I was actually even tithing better at Church with no hand
ringing. I could make small purchases
with cash (not credit card) to donate to our school parties and somehow we were
still doing okay in the finance department. We even had a major appliance go out but
shortly afterward my husband got a small bonus at work that helped cover it.
I was slowly learning
to let go and let God. Of course we
weren’t going out buying boats or new cars, but I was loosening my very
tightfisted grip on our finances and letting the Holy Spirit guide me in
generosity and a feeling that we would be okay.
And it worked. It worked so well
that ever since that Lent I’ve never made a budget, we have taken family trips,
been totally out of jobs, helped our kids pay for school, cars, phones and
whatever and now are able to save for retirement, all without agonizing over
it.
So don’t ever think something you work on during Lent won’t
last. It can! Trust in the Lord your God and in yourself
too, in letting go and asking for God’s help to take care of things. He’s got
us in His Hands.
Photo by Lisa Simmons
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