Faith Filled Friday

Hello and welcome back to another Faith Filled Friday!

This week I thought I was set to write about one thing but at the last second decided to change it up. So here goes. Please bear with me as I know it might be a little long but it is worth the read. :)

For many years of my young adulthood I did not even know about credit and what it did as I was in the military and I just used cash and never applied for any loans or needed the use of a credit score. After getting out of the military I quickly learned what credit was for and started working hard to create a good credit history. I learned what each scoring bracket range was and wanted to work hard to get over 800. This was in part because I wanted to one day purchase my own home which I have always dreamed about since being very young. 

I was along this journey for better credit when I was in an accident on my motorcycle. I had gone over the side of a cliff on my motorcycle and had to be airlifted to immediate help and later hospitalized. I was told that the VA refused to pay for it because they did not receive notice of the hospitalization within 14 days. 

Now a little background: My shoulder was previously injured in the military and it went out while riding that day. In going over a cliff I thought my life was over but thank God I had just purchased new riding gear. In fact it was the first time paying for all the gear I had. It was truly the body armor that saved my life that day. However, it didn't save me from the terrible debt I had now gone into. 

After paying down some of that debt I started feeling better even though my credit took somewhat of a hit. So I got back to damage repair on the credit and in 2007 was in another accident where I was broadsided. In this accident I suffered a back injury that I have lived with for so many years and to this day still suffer from. Once again the VA would not be paying for my hospitalization or any of my medical bills. This time I would be sued and so I quickly decided to take the credit I had and get into a home so that I could flip it after 2 years of sweat equity and pay off the medical debt as this would keep me from bankruptcy. 

While I found a home and signed a contract and had it in escrow I learned that I was levied, which means that they took everything I had in the bank and they left me with no way for my checks to clear for any of the bills I had just paid. The home I had in escrow fell out and I almost was sued for that. 

Since then I have struggled so bad. My back had gotten worse. I gained weight... It was the perfect storm and my credit fell to the 500's. 

I also fell into depression and just gave up for years. One day I decided to start trying again. For years I read articles online and did things to bring up my credit score bit by bit. It's a frustrating process because at times I felt like it was one step forward two steps back. But still I stuck with it.

For the last two years I have actually had a good credit score rising to the 700's. I've still always wanted to get into the 800's but I had reached a point where I accepted 770 would probably be as good as it would ever get. It just seemed to be the best I could get... 

So then yesterday came along. I checked my score and I was so shocked that I signed out and signed back in... I was so excited and felt like I needed to call someone; instead, I opted to write about it. You see that score represents a lot of hard brutal work. I felt that God saw me through to this... because although I had not given up on a good credit score I admit I had given up ever seeing the 800's. Despite home prices being too high for me to afford, even with a good 805 score, it still feels great. I prayed for that so long ago... and I made it. 

I am not going to be sad that I can't purchase my home for now... This makes me realize that the possibilities are still there, even when we might not realize it because we have a loving God that hears prayers and gets around to them, in His time and our partnering with Him. 

I am trying to heal and work on many things in my life... all of which I prayed for. I have worked hard toward these things like anger and abandonment... and here we have a class starting very soon to put me back in the driving seat toward a better life and a more consistent level of happiness. Will my score of problems and pain be gone at the end of this Trench class? Surely not, but the tools I learn will put me above the 700s in the score of healing! I have no doubt about it. I am aiming for that 805 score of living, healing, loving... That is just something I have to keep giving to God. I have to keep giving myself the oxygen to see it through. One day I will own my very own home, a place where I can have my own dogs without worrying about landlords, or seeing homelessness like I have in the past. I just can't thank the Lord enough... 

Much love & God bless everyone... Till next time,

~John