I recently listened to a show Dave Ramsey aired where he referenced the #neveragain moments his financial crises placed in his life.
In the midst of this global storm, it stands to reason that this experience will fundamentally change many people’s lives and usher in an era of “never agains”.
I found myself pondering my own arrival at the “never again” moment that forever changed how I behaved with money.
As an adult, I’ve never experienced financial crises in the traditional sense. I grew up surrounded by plenty of them in my family of origin, but once I was out on my own/married, things were always in decent shape. Debt was present, but not so much that it overwhelmed us or would crush us if there was a job loss/serious emergency. We kept a lot of margin because we both grew up experiencing what lack of margin felt like.
Nope, my #neveragainmoment came in February 2016 after several years of what we now recognize as financial infidelity. And I was the culprit. I covertly committed these egregious acts from approximately 2009-2011 and then tried to keep them hidden while working to secretly pay them off from 2011-forward.
When my husband confronted me about his discovery of my hidden credit card debt, he wasn’t angry. He was devastated, heartbroken, betrayed. As I looked him in the eyes and came clean about everything, I felt the totality of that pain and the weight of it broke me. That day was my moment.
Never again would I cause that kind of heartache to the person I love, never again would I risk my marriage for the fleeting sense of satisfaction that came with the swipe of a credit card, and never again would I withhold from myself and my husband the kind of joy, unity, and intimacy that comes from living in truth with one another.
NEVER. AGAIN.
Whatever your moment is, I invite you to declare: NEVER AGAIN!
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