Like many today, I find myself burdened with financial worries for the first time due to the current economic crisis. Whether you are a first-timer, or have always struggled with money, no one fully appreciates how heavy a burden personal debt is until you carry it. Further, it does not matter how you got there, debt often leads to despair.
Making a conscious decision not to let this despair eat away at me, I found myself over the last few weeks reaching out to everything and everyone in an effort to find relief, if not financially, at the very least physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Then this morning I felt as though God was starting to answer my prayer. A bit of relief came in the form of a genuinely compassionate article found on BeliefNet. Entitled, “Coping with Debt and Despair” (http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/2009/07/Making-Peace-With-Personal-Debt.aspx?ppc=72307&source=NEWSLETTER&utm_campaign=Inspiration&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=NL), the author, Deborah Price offers the following tips in making peace with your debt and despair.
- Know you are not your debt
- Forgive yourself and release the past
- Incorporate stress management techniques into your daily life
- Understand your spending patterns
- Develop a payback plan
- Reach out to a debt counselor
- Know when to seek emotional counseling
- Seek advise from an attorney, if needed
- Practice gratitude
- Pray for debt solutions and peace
After reading the article, I cried for relief came in the form of hope. I now pay forward this hope unto you in the form of a prayer Deborah Price included with her article:
Dear God,
Please help me to heal my relationship with money and to be released from the bondage of debt. Help me to know I am not my debt or my financial circumstances. Help me to know that regardless of my circumstances my life has meaning and value. Help me to be kind to myself and to use my indebtedness as an opportunity to heal and to be closer to your infinite wisdom. Give me strength, courage, and wisdom to guide me towards the right action. Surround my life with your constant love, light, and protection so I may know I am never alone. Thank you for ALL you have given me and continue to give me. For this, and so much more, my life is truly blessed and I am eternally grateful. I surrender ALL I am to you with faith and trust, knowing all will be resolved with time. And so it is, I say Amen.
Remember … touch a life today “The Little Way” by following the lead and need of others. Also, if you ever thought to yourself, “I wish my customers, knew…”, then be sure to visit White Light Communications at http://www.tothewhitelight.com.
~ Theresa
Doing It "The Little Way" 