Windows of Heaven

I’ve talked before about all the differences between Brett and I, and those differences make life a lot of fun. One area where we are definitely on the same page though is with finances. We both hate debt and we both like to save. And that makes things work very well. I had to take out some student loans when I started my PhD, but I always limited myself to the subsidized loans so I could avoid interest as much as possible. The semester after we got married we used my last loan amount to pay off both our cars (they were collecting interest, the loan wasn’t yet).

And we definitely agree that tithing comes first. I’ve seen people say they can’t afford to pay tithing. I can’t afford not to. I’ve never found money in an envelope at our door the way some people have as a blessing from tithing, but I can definitely count some other blessings from it. I feel much as the mother of Joseph F. Smith did – “If I did not pay my tithing, I should expect the Lord to withhold his blessings from me. I pay my tithing, not only because it is a law of God, but because I expect a blessing by doing it” (“Faith: The Foundation of all Righteousness,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, p. 49).

Our insurance didn’t cover much of our infertility treatment, but what it did cover was a huge help. And I view that coverage as a blessing of tithing. Our savings was even able to stretch, just barely, to cover all of our out-of-pocket expenses for the labs, procedures, and tests that weren’t covered at all. And while our cars have needed repairs, and some of them bigger than we would’ve liked, they haven’t needed anything drastic and they both still run great.

Tithing taught us both how to save and budget. Having that savings account when we needed it was a blessing of tithing.

When we did our taxes this year and saw what our refund was, I almost started crying from relief. I’m currently in the middle of the grace period for my subsidized loans and I’ve been real worried we weren’t going to get them paid off before the interest kicked in. Our refund allowed this to happen:

No accountant in the world could ever work out how it happens that returning 10% of our income to the Lord means we can cover all of our necessary expenses (a frivolous trip to the beach after graduation I’d wanted won’t be happening, but a paid for degree will), but it does.

I’m all about opening the windows of heaven whichever which way I can. Tithing is one window I enjoy opening.