Peace is perhaps the most sought after commodity in the world. It is the most priceless and yet the most devalued. People on a daily basis make decisions to give up their peace. One common route is through the pursuit of worldly possessions. By choosing to spend our time pursuing the things the world offers rather then the eternal profit of good character, relationships and eternal life the daily choices wear and wear away at you.

Before we made the commitment to live debt free we tried to buy our financial freedom through business and our own efforts. We invested a great deal of borrowed money in a business venture that seemed a for sure thing. We hadn’t evaluated the business from a biblical standpoint or asked God’s guidance. Instead we followed the crowd.

We convinced ourselves we were attempting it for different reasons. We wanted desperately to be able to live off of one income, thus allowing me (Amy) to focus on my real job of raising and educating our children. We also didn’t want Proeun to have to work the massive amounts of overtime he had been doing to make that happen. After nearly a year of working 10 hour days 7 days a week we desperately wanted a change. We hadn’t taken out any new debt since our marriage, other then a mortgage. Paying off our debt was still years away however.

We bought 2 houses to fix up and sell. Suddenly we had quadrupled our debt. We used credit to fix the houses and were certain they would sell quickly. They didn’t, and then the market collapsed. When we were finally able to sell one house it was for less then we owed on it. Suddenly we learned new lingo like, “short sale.”

Now we find ourselves working just to keep afloat. We are still attempting to buy more and more time together, as well as pay off our debts. As our family grows it becomes more and more apparent that more time then money is needed to raise children well.

The question is how do we handle this problem in a biblical way? Do we make paying the debt the number one priority while our young children languish in neglect? Do we totally ignore our debts? We know this is not biblical but how do we find a balance while starting a new business to support our family. This time we will take it slow, refuse to use credit and allow the Lord to lead.

Choosing to make the right decisions now, does not save us from the consequences of poor decisions in the past. Our families have even suffered from our decisions. Our good name has been tarnished. My sister’s in-laws have even received calls from creditors claiming that we used them as cosigners. Of course we had not but they totally believed the creditors and not us.

So now we move on, leaning on the Lord, trusting him to protect us and our reputation while profiting our farm and the simple life. Proeun has said, “nothing is ever simple.” That may be true but I hope that through the Lord’s guidance and now using his word as our guide we can continue to repair our past mistakes. Perhaps this is a test, an exercise to help us build our peace muscles. Only by gripping the Lord as tightly as we can will we truly have peace.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NKJV