For Such A Time As This ... Part 1

In my last post I said that I would write more later that week. I cannot believe that I last posted a month ago! Where does the time go? These days it simply seems to fly ... or drag, depending on circumstances : )

I wrote about a wonderful service we had at the end of November, when God spoke to me through the preacher, saying that like Esther, I was here for such a time as this. Those words have proved to be so true.

Many years ago, through a variety of circumstances, my husband and I got into debt. It was a gradual process, and we prayed all the way through begging God for a solution. We were scared of losing our home so we didn't seek help until we were very deep in debt. We spoke to family members and I was ridiculed and told it was all my fault - a deeply damaging experience. We ran out of food and money. Several Christmas times in a row we had real crunch points, where it was gifts for the children or food. The stress was beyond anything I've ever known.

I believe the stress contributed greatly to the ill health I have been suffering from for the last four years.

Five years ago we did finally seek help from a free advice service and we entered what's called a Debt Management Plan. All our creditors agreed to receive an affordable fixed amount from us each month and in turn we could live again. However, at the rate we could afford to pay it was going to take 30 years to pay off the debts. And our cars were getting older and more decrepit. We needed some work equipment. And parts of our house needed desperate attention. And the Debt Management Plan took all we had 'spare'. Yet again we needed a miracle.

Enter the word 'for such a time as this'. God has not just given me the ability to hear from Him, but also finance and administration skills. I felt the Lord say to speak to our bank for a small loan for a work van. I went to the bank and the bank showed me our credit score (how company's work our whether it is safe to loan you money). It was the worst possible score and they refused a loan. I left the bank a bit despondent. I had worked very hard on our business accounts, our home accounts, our business plan, our cash flow, all showing how we could afford a loan. It had taken me a very long time.

My husband said 'Don't worry, it won't all be for nothing'. We were stood outside at the time. I looked up and we saw birds of prey above our heads, circling on the thermals. First there was two, then four. They soared and swooped, then soared again. They were beautiful and majestic. I felt God was reminding us that:

"But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 31 NLT

Then God nudged me to speak to our financial adviser. I explained our position (which was humbling, as I had to admit our huge debts once again). But I pointed out we had a lot of money in our property. Could we borrow against the property, rather than an unsecured loan? I felt that was how God was leading. That was December 8th 2014.

Because Christmas was coming everything was slow. It took several weeks for him to speak with our existing mortgage company to see if they were prepared to loan us more. So he handed us over to a secured loan specialist he knew. He said it should be a reasonably easy process as we had covered so much groundwork already. He was wrong.

We entered Christmas weary from work and the extra pressure the financial side of things had put on us. We had little money, and no promise of a good outcome. I felt spent and the devil attacked my mind constantly with negative thoughts. All we could do was praise, hope and trust ....

Part 2 shortly.   Be blessed : )