Thinking Outside of the Box & Growing in Trust

Hello everybody! This post is going to be a short one because we are coming off a busy week and are preparing for a little Garden Tea Party Fundraiser!

I figured I’d share something that we are slowly discovering as we try to provide the very best education for our kids — with limited funds to make it happen.

What we have discovered, is that, for most parents of big families, you need to learn to think outside of the box when it comes to helping your kids get to college.

Most of us don’t have endless funds at our disposal, am I right?

But just because you can’t personally pay for your entire kids college education, it doesn’t mean you don’t have an important role in helping your kids afford their own education.

This one is important, because parenting is so much more than just signing checks. Parenting is ultimately about helping our kids learn to take responsibility for their own lives and helping them make good choices along the way.

We are not in the position to cosign on large loans for our kids, but we have discovered that we still have an important role in helping our kids achieve their goals, while avoiding the pitfall of graduating with debt up to their eyeballs.

It requires a new mindset towards college and college loans.

Personally, we are opposed to large amounts of debt — even when it comes to college — and we have taught our kids to see their “job” as trying their very best to do well in school, prepare for standardized tests, and work to earn money every summer.

In other words, they need to work hard for their own higher education. They have a role to play, and so do we.

We can share our wisdom with them, pay for tutors for those standardized tests, seek out the advice of amazing college counselors (shout out, Karen!), and teach our kids to look to God to help us find a way to make up the difference.

This doesn’t mean no loans — but it does mean a reasonable amount of debt which won’t crush your kids upon graduation and for the next 30 years of their lives!

This weekend, we are putting those beliefs into practice.

Our daughter needs a new violin to continue her studies in college — she’s made do with a very modest violin thus far, but she needs to upgrade it for a college level mastery of the instrument.

Frankly, any resources we have are funneling into helping her in whatever way we can for college, but John had an idea to have a garden party fundraiser to try to help our daughter achieve her goal.

So today I am running around like mad trying to make scones, get enough tea cups and pretty plates, and make for a (hopefully) lovely intimate gathering of friends, family and clients who will be in attendance.

Why do I share this? It’s because, I want you to know that, just as there is more than one way to skin a cat (not that I’ve tried), there is also more than one way to help your kids get to college and pursue their goals.

Money may be limited, but God is not, and we are learning to move forward in faith and be amazed at the ways God is providing for our kids.

Interestingly, God often provides through the help of the people around us, and I can say there have been many amazing people helping us all along the way.

So, people, be open to life and ingenuity, and the inspiration of God and don’t worry if your bank account is lacking what you need.

Don’t be afraid when you encounter obstacles along the way, because God can move in powerful ways that go far beyond what human reason can anticipate or comprehend.

I will share with you a story that my father shared with me years ago. It began with his belief in the importance of tithing, of giving a portion of his money back to God.

He was preparing to send his own 5 kids through college and his financial advisor told him it would be impossible, considering all my father’s income and expenses.

My father had forgotten to include the tithe that he had been faithful to from the start of his marriage, and when he told his advisor to take 10% off of his earnings to account for that, his advisor looked him in the eye and said, “Well, now, it is absolutely impossible!”

Well, wouldn’t you know it, somehow we all got through college without any college loans (thanks to the incredible generosity of our parents, summer jobs and scholarships along the way). Amazing, right?

To this day, my Dad says it was due to that simple act of faith — that tithe he and my mom faithfully gave to God — that made up for the difference in what we were lacking.

God is faithful, so very faithful, and He loves those kids of yours more than you could know. He loves you more than you could know, too.

So don’t waste time worrying about their future — or yours, for that matter. Just put your trust in Him, work hard and see where it takes you.

Sure, you’ll likely need to make sacrifices along the way, but if you prayerfully move forward seeking God’s wisdom and following His lead, neither you nor your kids will be lacking what you really need.

Just be prepare to be amazed at how God (and Momma Mary) will work out even the littlest details for you and your kids.

God’s got this, people!

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.”

Padre Pio

P.S. Here’s our scone recipe. My daughter says they’re the best!