I used to be kind of high maintenance. Actually…I was high maintenance. During my twenties and early thirties, there was a certain “standard” of living that I hoped to reach. Things like clothing, cars, and vacations were pretty important to me. So was entertainment. A lot of our money was spent on things in this category.

When I finally realized that I needed to make some changes in order to pay off our debt, I wasn’t too excited about it. By that time, I had grown enough as a person to understand that we didn’t actually need everything that society said we did. But at the same time, I didn’t know if I wanted to go through the hardship of giving things up. I was worried that our children wouldn’t understand the changes we were preparing to make, and would possibly grow bitter about it.

Related: How We Paid Off $30,000 of Debt in Under Six Months

As we made changes little by little, it was like layers of burden were falling off of me. Sure, it feels great to owe less money. After all, the borrower is slave to the lender. But it was much more than that.

I figured out that I had been carrying the burden of owning way too many things, that cluttered our home.

I realized that I had been carrying the burden of running my children to activities nearly every day of the week, when they actually thrived more when given ample creative time at home.

I had been carrying the burden of filling my mind with so many obligations, that I at times neglected God’s Word. And friends, there is nothing more important then to grow our relationship with God whenever we can.

While paying off our debt, which was a rather difficult experience, I gained the understanding that some of best things are simple things. This was a surprising benefit…a gift I didn’t even know I needed.

I started to value things like growing food, and quiet evenings reading at home. And as we paid off our debt more and more, the more determined I became. Even when we didn’t “have” to live simply, it was now the lifestyle for me.

Related: Does Being Frugal Have to be Difficult?

Sure, I still enjoy going out to eat with my husband or to the zoo with my kiddos. But nothing has my heart like stepping foot into my garden, taking a walk through the woods, or watching my children play together in our yard.

I think that so many of us are missing this gift, and we didn’t even really know we needed it.

So in some sort of weird way, I’m thankful for my experience of paying off debt. Besides learning that I love the more “simple” things in life, it also caused me to fully understand just how stinkin’ terrible debt really is. Goodness, it was difficult to get rid of! Quite the opposite of how easy it is to get.

Sometimes the Lord uses unexpected things to get our attention. This was certainly the case for me. Let us have eyes to see, and ears to hear.

Thank you for stopping by today, friends. I hope you have a lovely day with your family! Tomorrow, another Member Newsletter will be available on the blog. Oh, I’m so excited! If you would like to learn more about becoming a member of Redeeming Home, please click here.