Faithfulness & Finances: Anonymous

I truly cannot explain God’s goodness in the realm of finances over the last 2 years, but I’m going to try. This narrative has been rolling around in my head for months, and I’ve been hesitant to write it down and share it openly. This story isn’t about me, or my husband, or our jobs, or our self-disciplined spending habits, or our credit history, or any of that. That’s why it’s anonymous: I am not the author of this story in reality. It’s about God, His faithfulness to us, and how He provided when we were uncertain of our financial future.

Two years ago, I was pregnant, overjoyed that God had seen fit to give us a baby on the way after several years of longing and loss. (That’s a story for another time.) I was working full-time, and we began discussing what I would do once the baby arrived in May 2020. We chose together that I would stay home, at least for the first year, so we began to save as much as possible, knowing that we would soon transition to being a one-income family with a new baby.

The world shut down the week after my baby shower, and my husband’s work pace slowed considerably as we both worked from home. His income was typically supplemented by a production-based bonus which was cut due to economic hardships; we had no idea when it would be reinstated. I finished my job on a Friday, and a week later our son was born. Soon enough, the bills started rolling in. We had  saved and budgeted for this, but we didn’t know we needed to plan for a global pandemic that would result in a significant decrease in pay for my husband’s job. As we paid bills and set up payment plans, we wrestled with feelings of joy, exhaustion, and sometimes fear: had we saved enough? Could we really afford to have a baby?

In the midst of all this, we continued to give to our church as an act of obedience. We had set a goal that our giving would be our first line item, even before our mortgage, and we didn’t feel God calling us to decrease our giving, even though it would stretch us immensely. I genuinely can’t tell you how it worked out. What we gave as a two-income family with no children was one thing, but to give that when we’re reduced to one income, without the bonus supplement, and with all the expenses of a new baby seemed insane. There were several months that my husband looked at me and said, “We can still give this month and be okay, but next month we may have to make some tough decisions.” We would look over the budget each month to look for ways to cut back, but there weren’t any. No random unnecessary subscriptions or cable tv or excess expenditures. Where was the money going to come from?

I’ll never forget the night when my husband came downstairs (after one such budget audit), looking speechless. “So...the numbers don’t add up this month.” I couldn’t read the expression on his face, so trying to be coy or funny to break the tension, I asked “Don’t add up, like in a good way or in a bad way?” Still looking completely bewildered, he said, “In a good way.” I don’t know if we ever figured out how, but God had intervened in a tangible way to provide for our family when we thought we were nearing the end of our rope.

But the story keeps getting better. My husband’s company was able to reinstate the bonus supplement later in 2020, and his office had an incredible amount of growth and production in 2021. To God be the glory! With the stimulus money and some savings, we were able to replace my car and even buy furniture that didn’t previously belong to our parents. In 2021, God provided a part-time job for me and the necessary childcare so that our son can play and learn and grow as I steward my gifts for the kingdom. These are only some of the ways that He provided financially so that we can continue giving and growing in generosity towards others in need.

God’s faithfulness to us culminated in December of 2021: my husband’s Christmas bonus exceeded our entire year of giving. We sat in disbelief for days about how God had, all year, called us to trust His provision even in uncertain times. And now, in the final month of the year, God has used this job to pour out his blessings on our family. In the moment, it was tempting to think about how to spend it: investments, vacations, creature comforts, or even putting it towards something practical like the car loan or mortgage. But we were drawn back to reflect on how God provided, not because of our feeble attempts at being faithful, but because of His perfect faithfulness to us. This prompted our hearts to consider how to be generous with the Christmas bonus, rather than using it to build our savings account or enhance our lifestyle.

Hear me, this isn’t everyone’s story. For some reason, God chose to call us to radical generosity, to stretch our faith in His provision, to the point that it scared us. And then He showed off. I share this story to encourage you: God is so faithful that our doubt doesn’t shake Him, so kind that even when we waver, He stands resolute. Our story of generosity and God’s provision is over-the-top, but it’s not that way because we’re that great. It’s only because He is so very good.