Transitioning Home: It Takes Planning, Not Luck

by Glynnis Whitwer

My son spent an enjoyable Sunday afternoon at a friend’s house, and I chatted with his mother, Jenny, while waiting for shoes and balls to be gathered. Jenny is a teacher at my children’s school and had become a friend.

“What are you doing this afternoon?” I asked.

“Laundry,” she answered, breathing a weary sigh.

“That’s what I’m doing tomorrow,” I countered, commiserating in a way only another mother can.

“You’re lucky, I wish I could stay home like you,” Jenny answered.

“I know,” I said, “I’m very thankful to be at home.”

I’ve thought about her comment many times since that day. It broke my heart to hear the longing in her voice to be at home. But I couldn’t agree with her assessment of my situation. Luck didn’t have a thing to do with my being home. I didn’t wake up one day to find that my debts were paid or to discover my family could live on one income. That didn’t take luck. It took planning.

If God is calling you to transition out of the workplace, you will need to commit to making the changes needed. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. It will probably involve sacrificing something, but the benefits will far outweigh the temporary discomfort that accompanies change.

For years, my husband and I lived the “typical” American life. We both enjoyed our careers, drove new cars and lived in an average neighborhood. With student loans, home expenses and three children, we found ourselves with growing debts.

There are many areas in life where it is desirable to be above average. But being in debt is not one of those areas. When my husband and I would hear reports of the average debt for an American family, we would look at each other and jokingly say, “Well, at least we are above average.”

It wasn’t very funny, because financial obligations controlled our lives and affected our ability to follow God’s will. With all our money tied up in paying bills, there was little discretionary income. We weren’t even tithing. We felt as though we were caught in a spider’s web that was binding us to this progressively limiting lifestyle of work and debt.

When I knew that God wanted me to work from home, my husband and I took a hard look at our circumstances and knew we needed to make changes.

There are two ways to approach a situation like this. Taking a victim mentality is one way. It would be easy to blame the credit card companies that mail us applications at a rate of two to three a day. One could blame a lack of education, too much education, the economy, their parent’s bad example, or even the weather. (I don’t know how, but I’m sure it’s been done.)

The other way is to have faith that if God is calling you home, then He will make a path. Your part is to walk that path, and make the tough decisions needed to not veer.

Unless you receive a windfall, most people will need a financial plan for transitioning out of the workplace. This plan needs to include paying off debts and creating a livable one-income budget. If it’s not possible to live on one income, then the plan should include replacing income with work from home.

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Glynnis Whitwer is a member of the
Transition Home team, a ministry dedicated
to helping women transition from work to home.
http://www.transitionhome.com
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