What is the American Dream and has your American dream changed from what it use to be?
I think most of us would say, being happy is a staple to most everyone’s dreams.
Does being happy even make the top three on your list?
- Happiness was somewhere on my top 10!
- The stuff I had most certainly came first.
We thought we had the American Dream, honestly I never thought too much about it.
Do you?
I use to sit and think about this crazy life I’m living. This non stop cycle, the same thing day after day. Almost like Ground Hogs Day, but with a mortgage and lots of bills!
I know I’m not alone, right? I’m sure there is at least one person that agrees with me, then I’ll feel better sharing all my crazy!
“Crazy”
I seem to hear the word crazy a little more these days. Why do I say “more”? Well, you see, I’ve heard it before. Like, for instance, just now! I heard the words “stupid” and “crazy” from my 14 year old daughter Gillian. You’ll have a chance to meet her later, along with our 8 year old daughter Callie. They’ll both be adding a video blog to post weekly, once we negotiate their fee for blogging!
Time to Backup
In September 2012, our lives changed when my husband Bobby lost his job. At first it was shocking, but honestly, we were scared! We are not very good at saving; one of our biggest issues, along with a few more. Living on one income was going to be a challenge but what choice did we have? We had to make it work!
Failing the Challenge
Bobby had always worked from home and what a blessing this was. Having him at home before and after school was something we took for granted. He searched and searched for a job, with no luck of finding work at home. He was becoming desperate for any reasonable job. Months went by and complete panic had set in. I’m sure you can imagine the toll this was taking on our family and our marriage! What were we going to do?
Serious crazy take over!
This was just the beginning of the worst 15 months of our lives. Bobby’s mental health began falling into a dark hole with no way out. The pride he had always taken in providing for our family was out of his control. Depression was just a small portion of this darkness that was taking over our lives. Everything had become such a mess, all I could do anymore was pray. We had gone through all of our savings, our retirement and borrowed money from loving family and charity. We even turned off cable television and started selling things, and for what, an over priced neighborhood and a outrageous mortgage? So now, what do we do? I still had this crazy idea to stay in our house. The debt we had accumulated had become so big, we would be paying everyone for the rest of our lives.
The Light Came On
This crazy life was just too much! We can’t do this anymore! Finally, with those words and a prayer to God, we found something better!
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
“God, I know I cannot fix this mess! I’m sorry that I’ve been the one trying to fix it and not trusting that you know what’s best. I’m going to give this to you and let you show me how it’s done. Amen.”
I just let go and started to notice that I didn’t want to try to keep this money sucking house, and the needless stuff in it. God, family, and time were what we wanted. Our lives began to see some light. I felt content and peace for the first time in a very long time. But the best part was, I felt HAPPY!
I’ll be back on Sunday, it’s now time for some Pandora and my bed. I have work in the morning and lots of teeth to clean! =)
Angie
(a.k.a. A Little Crazy)
