I felt compelled to share where God has me right now, hoping that my journey might resonate with someone else facing similar struggles. While I haven’t found all the answers, there’s a certain comfort in knowing that you're not alone in your experiences.
To begin, I’m married with four children. I work full-time, and my wife runs a business from home. In 2015, we moved back to California after living in Arizona for 15 years, where I met my wife. The move was prompted by a job promotion that required me to be closer to my team. Although my wife was excited, I was hesitant, mainly because we were deeply rooted in our small church community, and I’m naturally slow to embrace change. However, after much prayer, I felt God confirm that this move would be for the best.
We found a home with rent significantly higher than what we were paying in Arizona, but God provided. My promotion allowed us to cover rent, bills, and the higher cost of living in California, while still being able to tithe. We eventually found a new church and became actively involved.
Fast forward to 2022, when we were notified that the owners of our home wanted to sell, giving us only three months to move out. This unexpected situation put us under immense financial pressure. The cost of rent in the area had soared, making it difficult to find an affordable home. We needed to come up with a deposit, first and last month’s rent, and cover moving expenses—an overwhelming task. My wife suggested moving out of state to escape the high cost of living, but by this time, we were deeply involved in our church, and our kids were settled in good schools with extracurricular activities. Despite the uncertainty, we kept praying, and by God’s grace, we managed to find a new home nearby and cover the moving expenses. God came through!
Yet, even after settling into our new home, I couldn’t help but wonder if we made the right choice. Should we have moved somewhere cheaper, or even out of state? This uncertainty has led us to a crossroads: do we continue to trust God in our current situation, or take a leap of faith and make a significant change? Proverbs 16:9 reminds us that "A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
Now, three years into living in this new home, we’re living paycheck to paycheck and accumulating more debt. We feel the need to make a significant change to improve our financial situation, but we don’t want to act out of desperation and overstep God’s plan. This ongoing challenge has driven us to our knees in constant prayer, and it has forced us to live out the teachings of Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6-7.
I hope sharing my story helps someone else who might be going through a similar situation. Through all this, I’ve learned that our problems often seem bigger than they are, especially from God’s perspective. We are called to be responsible and honor God with our finances, but we must also trust Him and not let our struggles prevent us from seeking His righteousness. God is faithful, and I know He will guide us through this, just as He has done before.
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