Freedom from Financial Fear

Sparta, TN - Mike and Ginny Mason were looking forward to a full retirement filled with visits from their grandchildren. But, as Mike entered his sixties, he came to a terrible realization. “I’m never going to be able to retire,” Mike thought. “I remember those thoughts over and over and over again.” Years of credit card spending and making only minimum payments had left the Masons in a deep financial hole. “I’m ashamed to say we were forty four thousand dollars plus in credit card debt,” says Mike. “At least a third of the income coming in was going back out to credit card debt, maybe more,” says Ginny. In the midst of their troubles the couple mad an important decision that they had been putting off for yeas. “Ginny and I made a commitment to tithe first,” Mike says. “Ginny had always handled all of our finances and she was always so good to say, ‘Mike this is not right, we need to be tithing.’” “I’d been raised to tithe, so I knew that tithing was the way to go,” says Ginny. The Masons had been CBN Partners for years and decided to increase their giving. “We felt like we were part of helping other people through Operation Blessing and the ministry there,” says Mike. “It was an encouraging time during a very discouraging time of my life.” Shortly after they started tithing though, Mike got some terrible news. The tire plant where he worked was shutting down and he would be out of a job. Mike considered the options. “I just decided bankruptcy was the only way,” says Mike. “Even though I knew it wasn’t the right way it seemed to be the only way.” “But I just kept praising the Lord,’ says Ginny. “I just kept thanking him saying, ‘I don’t know why I’m going through this Lord but I’m going through it and somehow were going to make it.’” They left the bankruptcy attorney’s office without signing the papers. When they got home there was an unexpected message from the tire plant. Mike qualified for early retirement by just three days and he was offered a significant bonus for retiring early. “The lady laid the paperwork out in front of me and low and behold there was enough money there to pay off our debts,” says Mike. “There was also enough for us to invest some money and to be able to go ahead and take retirement…” “We were finally at that point where things were beginning to be a miracle,” says Ginny. Mike and Ginny are enjoying their retirement and their grandchildren. They are free from the fear that came with debt. “I had to let go of fear,” says Ginny. “He’s going to take care of me and I know that now.” “When I finally surrendered my finances to God,” recalls Mike, “I went from debt to out of debt almost immediately, something I could never have thought about or planned on my own. You can’t out give God.” Being obedient to God's truth made an incredible difference for this family. They made themselves available for God's love to flow through them to others, and they are reaping a blessing themselves as well. Join them in partnering with CBN. You will make a difference in lives around the world, through medical missions, food and clothing programs, humanitarian outreaches and so much -- all in the name of Jesus.