Yesterday afternoon, I drove to our credit union, got a cashiers check, drove to the local bank branch where our mortgage is held, and deposited the final deposit.
When I got home, we all piled into our 2005 minivan, drove to our favorite Mexican restaurant for 99¢ taco night, and splurged on two orders of choriqueso.
After dinner, we came home, and the kids and I took turns mowing our 1/2 acre lot with our push mower because our riding mower has been inoperable all season.
After mowing (and a few chicken coop improvements) we all celebrated with a boxed Funfetti cake mix topped with Tru Whip.
We took turns thanking each other for the ways we’ve all pitched in over the years, and expressed gratitude to others (not present) who have helped us along the way by teaching us good financial principles. We made sure not to forget the U.S. Treasury for printing the funny money that the government deposited into our bank account this spring, and of course, the Academy.
When the kids went to bed, my husband and I plopped ourselves down on our lumpy old secondhand couch and enjoyed some kombucha and Ningxia Red.
As we headed to bed, all the pieces of our day fell together for me and I chuckled to myself about how all those little parts of our story – secondhand furniture, old vehicles, 99¢ taco night…. – have been parts of our story for years, and how they are actually a significant part of the reason we have made it to this point.
Honestly, it was all pretty anti-climactic. Perhaps it’ll hit me when we receive the papers from our mortgage company.
I hesitated in sharing this news because my intention is not to brag. We know that only God has brought us to where we are today, and while we can thank people all day long, it’s only truly the Lord who established us and encouraged us and led us to this place.
I decided to share it though because I want people to know – THIS CAN BE DONE.
You can choose to set aside instant gratification, new cars, new furniture, fancy vacations, better lawn equipment, and yes, even queso when you go out for Mexican. Because every penny really counts – even if our country is apparently running low on pennies these days.
The hard work is worth it, friends. Keep going.