You probably never would have guessed that I’ve been living off of half my salary for the past 4 months. When I started my new position in the middle of the school year, I was offered a salary agreeable to my pockets only to find out a few weeks after signing the contract that it would have to be adjusted to reflect the fact that there were only 14 checks left in the period. What did that mean? They essentially split the money in half and shoved something at me that has been just about equivalent to what I made while working at The Home Depot. In fact, I think people working full-time at McDonald’s make more than I do these days. Okay, that was exaggerated.

The drastic change left me a little on edge about a lot of things. I started looking at my account and at the high bills that I had accumulated when I was making more and quickly realized that I would not have enough to sustain me. After all, I’m the only breadwinner in my household. Nysan needs me keep her fed. The pangs of this reduced wage didn’t really hit me until the second deposit of the month when there were no supplemental payments from the position I transitioned from.

I may have gotten depressed somewhere in there.

What I do remember is praying. Worrying. Praying some more. Just consumed by the thought that I wasn’t going to be able to make it. I slacked up on my job like: “Ya’ll don’t even pay me enough to sit here right now.”

Yes, I went in and talked to all kinds of people in administration because I just knew there was a mistake. If I had known this is how the game was going to be played, I would have waited to start next school year and kept doing what I was doing.

I was offered an opportunity that would boost me up about $100 which isn’t a whole lot, but something is definitely better than nothing. Then, they said it would take a few month to process.

People, I still haven’t seen that $100 as I write this.

Anyways, I continued in my funk for about a month or so afterwards. Finding my joy just really lacking. But I did my best at hiding it.

Any author will tell you, unless they’re bursting you door down for film rights, or you started writing and got popular back when people were still heavily reading books, the book market is shifty. There are high sale months and low sale months. But I guess that’s just like any other market. 

So, here I am. When this all happened, I was speaking with one of my friends who told me: “Maybe this is God’s way of showing you that you can live on less? So that you can learn to put your trust in him.”

I didn’t think much of it at first. But then I started making adjustments. Relying more on God’s direction than my own and putting faith in Him rather than in what I had.

Looking back at it now, I have no idea how things were getting paid.

ARE getting paid.

Nothing has been sold, repossessed, or loaned. I won’t be getting my full salary until September, which I’ve found peace with. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Faith can make things happen. I’ve also realized that I needed a little boost of it. That’s how I know God is still working in my life. He knows what I need, when I need it, and the amount.

Having more faith is probably one of the best joys of this whole experience. That’s where I found my will to be happy again. I had to get out of my feelings about it. Besides, I hardly even notice it now. Although I kind of fell into the simple life, that I hear people brag about all about all of the time, it was a needed adjustment. I’ve experienced what it’s really like to live on less.

Now, my living on less may be different from your living on less. I may exaggerate a little. But the facts are still the same. Having to develop a new way of looking at your budget is the same too.

I pulled up some interesting articles about Developing Godly Qualities, such as faith, as well as other interesting reads about depression, anxiety and being happy with what you have.