Going forward despite a bad investment

Talk about money going down the drain! My husband Jeff and I invested an inheritance he’d received in two laundromats, a business that looked fine on paper. Our plan was to live off the proceeds from the business while Jeff pursued a new direction in his career.

He had quit his job at an advertising agency and was in graduate school getting his doctorate in philosophy. According to the person who sold us the franchise, he’d easily be able to continue school and manage the business.

Jeff did continue school and could run the business. The trouble was, instead of making money, the business continually lost money, no matter what changes we made. It was just a very bad investment, which would take pages to describe.

We were doing everything we could, but felt we were sloshing down a giant drain under the laundromat, right along with all the leftover sudsy water. We lived with the constant strain of looking for solutions to bail ourselves out of this mess.

But we weren’t the only ones. Our friends, Mary and Hugh, had recently invested badly as well, in a restaurant, and were now wobbling out the other side. I asked Mary, who had put her heart and soul into Hugh's business, if I would ever get rid of this feeling of horror and dread. She assured me I would—but in her case, the light at the end of the tunnel came through prayer and constantly looking to God for answers. For Mary and Hugh, it hadn't been one big answer, but lots of little right decisions that finally got them back on their feet. She said we needed to keep looking to God for any guidance to nudge us forward.

I was a prayerful person. In fact, I had learned over the years the effectiveness of relying on prayer for answers to life’s problems. But this time, instead of listening, I had given God a lot of great solutions. In fact, I was so busy suggesting the quick fix I hadn't really listened to God's ideas at all. Once I realized that, I could finally hear the words, "Move Forward," and they were like a new beacon light.

As it turned out, the business never stopped being a drain, and it did take the entire inheritance. No miraculous solution ever appeared. But my prayer for guidance about moving forward was answered daily. First, we sold our new van for a used Volkswagen Bug. Doing this in a city where most of your friends worked directly or indirectly for the top three United States car manufacturers is not easy, but the Bug was fun and actually big enough for the three of us.

Some days I fared better than others, but there were other days when I was desperate for some answers. How were we going to emerge out of our financial woes? One day after taking our son to school, I parked our VW by an open field. Getting out of the car, I plunked myself down in the grass. Sometimes it’s these moments, when you’re half-way between a desperate sob and a heartfelt prayer, that the solution becomes clear. As I sat there, all I could see was the beauty, abundance and goodness of God in every direction. The comforting message I got was our precious family couldn't be left out of that goodness. And I trusted in that.

Soon things started looking up. We decided to rent our lake-lot home, and move to a more convenient location where Jeff could continue his studies and start a new career. We went from a suburban dream home to a one-bedroom apartment in the heart of an unfamiliar city. Jeff's study was hidden under the stairwell, cramped and dark, but no matter, it was a private quiet place to study, and we were there in time for the fall semester.

Each day we felt God's guidance in every step of our adventure. Jeff continued to get ideas about how to adjust the laundromat debt and he also kept getting "A's" in his classes. On the surface, we were losing things we had previously valued. But we were realizing everything of importance was still there: health, friends, continual love, even new opportunities for me.

I had always prayed for a life full of contribution to others. I knew there must be more to life than decorating houses, shopping and going out to lunch. Within a matter of months after our move, a friend asked me to teach in her department at a school. I had trained for and rejected teaching as a career ten years earlier. Now I accepted.

I had prayed for purpose and opportunities to give to others, and there it was. This step became the first in a series in my career, which eventually led to a doctoral degree, a professorship and worldwide traveling opportunities.

Jeff continued his graduate studies at the new university. After about a year, the university awarded Jeff a full scholarship with a stipend covering our family needs. So even before Jeff finished his studies, money was flowing in through both of us. Eventually Jeff completed graduate school and moved easily into his new career.

God’s love and ideas, two new careers, friends, education, sufficient funding and travel now fill our lives instead of worry. Looking down the drain of money troubles taught us many lessons. Now I pray to know the small steps, confident in the knowledge that a solution won’t be long in appearing.

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