My "One Lucky Ride"
THE RIDE
My name is Lucky. Let me tell you how I got my name and found a forever home. I was about 6 weeks old when I stumbled upon a busy gravel parking area with a lot of big scary farm equipment. I was terrified and lost so I climbed up under a truck for protection. The guys that worked there shoed me out so I found another vehicle to crawl up under. They eventually left me alone.
I was tucked up underneath a Ford Flex when I realized the noise was coming from this engine and I was leaving the parking lot. I cried loudly during this short ride. I guess the driver heard me because she tried to leave me at the first stop but after she got in the car I crawled back up under the car to ride wherever she was going. I did not know that this was my “one lucky ride” to my future home.
I think this lady at first thought I was a wild cat and that I was going to take off and run away. I had to quickly show her that I needed her. I cried sweet meows and purred around her feet and then placed my paws on her leg. She then took a picture of me so I must have done my job well. I was then placed on her back porch and she disappeared.
THEY NAMED ME LUCKY
She returned with three boys I would soon call bothers…oh I mean brothers. When they saw me they were in disbelief and extremely excited to call me theirs. I was about to become their first pet. They named me Lucky because I was lucky to be alive, lucky to have hitched a ride and lucky that these “non-pet” parents allow me to stay. The boys played with me for hours and placed covers on me as I napped. I penetrated their hearts from the start.
This lady they called mom meets all my needs: food, water, litterbox and a warm place to sleep. She is my caregiver. I go to her first if I need anything. I began living on the back porch, but I quickly established my worth to mom by catching a mouse. It wasn’t long after that I was a comfortable fat cat living the inside life. Dad has always been a little harder to convince, but between me and you, he talks a big game but really loves me the most. I really enjoy long naps in his lap and playing fetch with him for my treats. SLXL
SETTLE PRRRFECTLY
It has been about two years now and my family is moving. I overheard discussions of what they were going to do with me. There was a few weeks between the time we sold our house and their move into the RV. My brothers prayed hard to keep me and there is nothing that our God cannot
do. Right on time, I got an invitation to move in with Maw Maw and Paw Paw with the rest of the family as we awaited the RV. Mom just kept saying you are one 'lucky dog' cat. It took me a day or so to come out from under the bed after the move to the grandparents’ house. So now I’m awaiting another big move into this RV. Hopefully I will settle prrrfectly there with my family as we adventure off on “One Lucky Ride”
Meet the Family
MISTAKES ALONG THE WAY
We have been blessed as we have based our marriage and family on our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We try to follow His leading. We have made plenty of mistakes along the way but His grace has been sufficient. To make our long story a little shorter, I’m going to start only about 2.5 years ago when we felt the Lord shifting and moving us. We knew something new was coming, although we did not know what that entailed. We also knew there were some things only God could take care of to release us from the place we have called home for 12 years.
MAKE A CHANGE
We were, what most would call, your typical American family. We had a mortgage, car payment and credit cards. We were not in terrible financial disarray, but we were caught in a financial cycle of get what you think you need or want and then worry about paying for it later. We just did not realize the chains this way of thinking put on us until we were free from it. We decided we were tired of doing financial things backwards. God is always right on time. My sister was reading and talking about Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover. I knew who he was and how his ministry has changed many families. I thought this was the perfect time to make a change.
PAY CASH
Jamie and I went on a little get-a-way, which was paid for by a credit card to be paid off later of course. This would soon be the last vacation we took this way. During our vacation time we both read his book that is full of common sense and financial wisdom. We came home and laid out all of our debits on the table. We told our children our plans and intentions and we then started taking action. We sat at the kitchen table and cut up our credit cards as a family. Within three months we paid off our credit cards. In six months we paid off our car. In 9 months we had saved enough for our emergency fund and in 12 months saved enough cash for a new car. We now pay cash for EVERYTHING and we are not a slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
XL
WE ARE DEBT FREE
This spring we prayed as a family over our mortgage and threw a piece of paper with our payoff amount into our fireplace. A few months later we closed on our home. We broke those chains with an act of obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit. We are DEBT FREE! In two short years we have seen His hand moving the chess pieces around to allow us to be released for this new phase in our lives. Today as I write this, we are traveling to pick up our RV that we will pay for with a trade in (our paid for vehicle) and a cashier’s check. God has led us to this point and I know He is faithful to complete what He has started in us. We owe no man and freedom feels so amazing. Thank you Jesus. Our plan is to seek the Lord and go wherever he leads us. Follow us as we go where the Lord leads us, as we homeschool for the first time, live in a RV for undetermined amount of time and drag the cat Lucky with us. We feel blessed to be on this “One Lucky Ride.”
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