Two kids, a mortgage, a car payment, credit card debt, and lots of stuff. The irony was we wanted more. More security for our children, the ability to travel, a new car, more stuff. We had been very active at St. Timothy’s for 27 years at this point in our lives and had heard, every year around October, how important our pledge was. And each October we struggled with how we could possibly step up to the challenge of a significant offering much less 10 percent.. Then came Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University.

We participated in a course offered at St. Timothy’s not long after Father Steve and his family joined us. Exploring together with 25 other folks how to extinguish the enslavement of debt we slowly began to understand. The combination of techniques we learned in class on how to free ourselves from debt and words from the pulpit on who we are and whose we are finally began to make sense.

So we began a two year journey of debt reduction and deliberate assessment of stuff. Instead of waiting to become debt free before we offered 10 percent of our income we decided to step out on faith and offer our tithe at the beginning of that journey. There were many moments along the way of celebration but two memories stuck with us and they happened in the same month. We received an odd automatic debit bill from one of our credit card companies. When we inquired with the company we were informed that the odd amount was actually our last payment bringing our balance to zero (Dave was right). The second happened two weeks later upon completing our tax return. Our end of the year giving statement from St. Timothy’s was exactly 10 percent of our combined income (God was right). It was a very good month.

Not a day goes by that we don’t stop and consider whether the things we want are really the things we need. And as God promised we were never left wanting for anything important. Letting go of control and trusting in God’s promise to provide the things we need has given us the peace to appreciate the things we have been given charge of everyday. Thanks be to God!