Gratitude for a dead car battery

For those just tuning in, let me give you the Reader’s Digest version: 3 years ago when my husband and I left full-time ministry, we left behind all security and stability we had in our lives (home, cars, retirement, furniture, benefits, etc). We had our personal possessions and six months severance in our pockets. This didn’t come as a shock, we knew what we were leaving behind and had planned for our “get out and start over as brand-new adults” strategy, but there wasn’t an extra cent to be had.

Then the pandemic shut the world down. At that time, my husband had a job that was essential and I was still able to operate my business. Because my business was literally six weeks old when we were all at home, I didn’t qualify (business-wise) for grants or loans made available to small businesses. I had applied for over 50 business grants that first year. Not a penny. The one bright side, because the money coming into my business was keeping the business running, I wasn’t paying myself and qualified for pandemic unemployment (not immediately as there were A LOT of hoops to jump through being self employed to get started).

That was 2020.

2021 was a year of growth. I got my ducks in a row with some great coaching, branded, and started bringing multiple revenue streams into my business outside of 1:1 client care. Husband got a new job after working a temporary job (he had left trucking in favor of being home) that was perfect for him. We got by.

2022 was centered to start out with a bang…and it did, just not in the way we anticipated. My husband got Covid and was out of work for 10 days. He doesn’t receive paid time off (this is literally the only downside of his job–he loves it so much). While it doesn’t seem like much, this financially devastated us for a time. The snowball from that missed income hit our household hard. We didn’t talk about this much publicly.

But, 2022 was also a year of MASSIVE growth in my business. More revenue streams, consistent client base, and truly establishing myself in the niche of people I serve. We recovered from hubby’s covid hit, but it took the rest of the year. One of the big milestones was getting transportation (a motorcycle) for my husband, which freed up time that I didn’t need to get him to and from work (and when you do the math, ended up saving us money for what it cost just in vehicle expenses to chauffer him).

Q1 of 2023 has my head spinning from momentum. My revenue streams are flourishing and my client base is consistent, stable, and growing. I am not a one-woman show anymore. I have the ability to hire independent contractors to take some of the workload off my shoulders. Personally, we have an emergency fund, savings, a complete package of benefits I’ve put together for us, we’re on track to finish paying the small amount of debt accrued in 2022 by the end of the year, we are stable enough for my husband to take a week off of work for a vacation to come with me to California next month while I do some business, and we’re able to make a few larger purchases–like a new insulin pump for my husband (even with insurance, not cheap!).

Now, fast forward to today. I walked out of the house before dawn to meet with a client and then teach a class. My car wouldn’t start. The battery was dead. I mean, dead dead. Not even my jumper pack dealie could pump any life into it to at least get it started for me to limp it to teach my class and then the auto parts store.

I was upset (don’t mess with my schedule), but I came in the house and (not so calmly) got a substitute out of bed to take my class and waited for AAA battery service. The technician arrived, did his thing, changed my battery, I handed him my debit card, and went on with the day. My biggest anxiety was hoping not to miss my 10am appointment for my annual mammogram.

As I was driving to the hospital this morning, I had a lightbulb moment and a wave of gratitude washed over me. Had this happened in 2021 or 2022 and I walked out and my car didn’t start, I would’ve had a meltdown. I would’ve sent myself into a panic attack trying to figure out how to pay for it and played the “what if” game for far too long.

But my battery died today. I was upset to miss a class (because the participants are awesome and I love teaching it), but I didn’t bemoan the missing income from those few hours. I was able to hand over my debit card to pay for a new battery without batting an eye. I didn’t have to go play financial jenga or figure out what we would have to do without in order to get our vehicle on the road.

I just went on with life.

The gratitude (and tears) came when I reflected on the morning and realized that this morning wasn’t the end of the world (as it used to feel when these things cropped up). We’re stable. We’re secure. The future is bright and abundant. I was able to see that and experience that peace firsthand today.

If you go back in this blog, you’ll find where I talked about God paving the path for us to leave full-time ministry and start over at breakneck speed–far faster than in our humanness we planned to exit. Even in the hard times over the last few years, we have been faithful–and He has been faithful to us.

While the reward is much greater for eternity, we are absolutely reaping the benefits of our faith here on earth. Life’s a wild ride.

Why do I tell this story? Because it matters. I’m in the wellness business. I serve people body, mind, and soul on a daily basis. Financial wellness plays into our holistic wellness. It affects stress, hormones, blood pressure, sleep, ability and accessibility to care, nutrition, mental health and more.

If there’s an area of wellness that you’re struggling, no, you’re not alone. But we can work together to change things for your whole being. Not sure where to turn for what you need? I’m here for it. Let’s chat.