The Floodgates of Heaven

Malachi Ch 3 verse 5 onwards have always been a tough read for The Mooneys...anyone knowing us over the last 26 plus years will know our journey through debt...which got progressively tougher and tougher in the last 5 years ending with us entering an IVA...this was a "last resort" for us.We drew a line in the spiritual sand and prayed ..."God..we are desperate to break free from this
life- threatening bondage of debt " Anyone who has been on the brink of financial ruin will know just how dark the times get when Bankruptcy is peeking round the corner and there is no way out.

IVAs are designed to keep people out of the Bankruptcy court and they get to keep any property/houses etc and ensures the creditors get some kind of payment rather than none at all as it would be in Bankruptcy. We still had to go to court and bare all to the Insolvency Practitioner and this has to be the most degrading and embarrassing moment in our lives. For 39 months out of the 60 allocated to us we "religiously" paid over our 700.00 each month and had all our expenditure examined with a fine tooth comb and had to ask for basic increases eg insurance for our dog ....we learned to work to a strict budget and as all credit was now no longer available this meant a huge change in our attitudes.

It was tough for the first 2 years as we kept it a secret from everyone as the shame and guilt was way too much to share with others....then when Chris was threatened with redundancy we realised we would have to "come clean" as if the axe fell how would we then explain our subsequent IVA failing meaning Bankruptcy and losing our home. Telling people was really hard but we were re-assured by most that we were still loved and accepted and the rest of the IVA was so much easier to get through. The most amazing things began to happen and if you have followed my blog you will know all about things like...unexpected tax rebates...holidays paid for...our trip to Willow Creek and so much more.

As I said in the opening sentence we have always struggled with the Malachi passage...over all the years we have been led by Ben D this passage was almost one of his favourites to preach from and it seemed as if it was salt on a raw wound. We have rarely tithed as scripture states but have always given as best as we could. We decided early on we would try and never let the basket go by on Sundays and even if its only a one pound coin we have given as and when we could. For gift days we have prayed and given when God has prompted and we have given gifts of money to others ..again as we have been prompted and enabled. We have always been as generous with our time and serving God as much as we could in many different ways which has helped us not to feel any condemnation with not fully tithing. In the IVA time we would have been unable to tithe as the IP would have laughed at us if we said we wanted to give a tenth of our income to the church ...But God didnt laugh at us...I believe He knew our hearts and our spirit and even though we were not fully in line with scripture He blessed us anyway... God is a good God...all the time..not just when we are being good but just becuase He loves us totally and fully exactly how we are. I sometimes think I should have kept a log book stating how many times we knew God was at work...not just financial blessings but in the many other ways we sensed God was with us....I am so sure that we could never outgive God..in any way.

The Floodgates of Heaven ....

The first of 3 "miracles " happened for us near the end of last year when Chris was given a consultancy role over in Milan which netted us a substantial amount of money which we immediately earmarked for Cat and Nick and their baby journey. The second miracle happened when we were able to offer a "Full and Final" payment to the IVA which meant our IVA completed .. 20 months earlier than planned....The third miracle happened when Cat and Nick conceived their baby ..which is now due in November.

Since the beginning of the year we have continued to "give" and to bless others as we waited for the IVA wheels to grind to a halt and for us to know what we actually had in terms of money...and then the redundancy axe finally fell on Chris re his job and he officially stops work end of September with a mere pittance for his redundancy package which if we are careful with it will last us to end of the year before we need to panic.! (I am being sarcastic with the word Panic..as .....)

We have such peace about this...we have no real idea what plans God has in store for Chris..we have a couple of ideas which he will pursue but until we know for certain we are just hanging out in the Kingdom. Whenever we have prayed we have heard God say quite clearly..

"He will never leave us or forsake us "
"I have never let you down yet "
"The best is yet to come "

and this is so true...even when we were dead in the sin of debt God was still there....I want Chris to do somethng which will satisfy him rather than just earn a wage...He has never been out of work before...never claimed any government benefits....worked hard all his working life to support our family and for the remaining years he has (he isnt old..only 58 so I am assuming many years ) I am asking God to bless him with the desires of his heart.....

Even now....we are still being blessed financially and in so many other ways ........Totally out of the blue we have had some bank fees repaid to us which has been way more than we were led to believe thus allowing us to replace our car and do a fair bit of work in Cat and Nicks house as well as redecorate one of our rooms and to bless a couple of others too...and to keep on giving as the basket goes round.

Its strange that even tho I have struggled personally with other issues this year I can still stand in awe of how God has opened The Floodgates of Heaven and poured out a blessing ... God is good all the time. In the year 2010 so far The Mooneys are so grateful and thankful for ....

An end to the IVA early....
Lump sum available for Cat and Nick....
One off payment to IVA....
New baby due..so excited to be Granny and Granddad Mooney...
New car...
Holiday to The Algarve..paid for completely by cash....
Family times that have brought great joy....
Refunds of PPI..exceeded what we thought....
Being able to put money in the offering basket each time it passed us by...
Blessing others and being blessed....
Good friends who have stood with us through it all...
Church community allowing us to be open.....
No condemnation.....
Chris having 3 month "notice" which he doesn't actually have to work...
Redundancy package ..which altho not much will keep us going ,....
A sense that God has our future firmly in our hands....
My income and job being as secure as self employment can be.....
My job being so enjoyable and satisfying....
Middle son continuing to stay at home which allows us to benefit from his rent...
Chris being able to take up golf....and having the money for him to do so....
The desire to buy buy buy has gone completely.....
Any form of credit not being available for another 2 years....Temptation removed...
Continued faith that God has our future in His hands....

The biggest blessing in all of this for us is the prospect of becoming Grandparents...No words can describe the feelings we have when we look at Cat and Nick and know that only God can have brought this to pass....He is the creator of all life and I am left in adoration.

Oh yes....The Floodgates of Heaven are well and truly open above The Mooneys.