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Recovering From Bankruptcy

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When Shanti and Claudia moved from Florida to Virginia for a new job they had nothing but high hopes for their future.

Claudia says, “We were ready for a new change for our family although we were leaving behind many family members and friends. It was an exciting time.”

The couple rented a house while they put their old home on the market. Unfortunately, it was 2007 and the housing market was slowing down. Now they had to pay for both a mortgage - and their rent.

Shanti shares, “You have to always be two steps in trying to figure out what you're going to do, so there's not a lot of peace in it when you're just depending on yourself.”

In a short time, Shanti saw his commissioned based income wane. As the bills mounted, they took out loans and maxed out credit cards just to meet monthly expenses.

Claudia shares, “I bought things when I knew that I didn't have the money to pay back the credit cards. We started using loans to pay the bills on the house in Florida things were really just getting out of control.”

At one point, they were down to their last two dollars.
Claudia recalls, “We just couldn’t pay anything anymore and it was scary cause we didn't know what we were going to do.”

By now, they’d dropped the asking price for their home down to half of what they still owed but it still wouldn’t sell.  Soon, their house was in foreclosure and before long they had to file for bankruptcy.

Shanti says, “You have nothing and you need that monkey off your back.  And so that was ‘the’ absolute very low point, for sure.”

They knew they couldn’t get out of their financial mess themselves, so they prayed to God and decided to tithe.

Claudia says, “We realized that we needed to be obedient to God.”

Shanti shares, “Even when we didn't have anything we still tithed. And it felt right to tithe.”

They also began selling their personal belongings. They continued to trust God to provide. Then a few months later they finally saw the turn-around they’d been praying for.

Claudia says, “The jobs just started pouring in for Shanti, and everything just started taking off.

We knew that it was God that, you know, provided for us at that moment. It was amazing to have extra money.”

Shanti remembers, “More clients, more sales. It's a miracle.  It's awesome. I wasn't scrambling to get to the bank to pay the bills, you know?  They-they were paid.”

Shanti and Claudia were able to save again and they increased their giving. Claudia also started watching the 700 Club and they became partners.

Claudia says, “I liked everything that CBN did. Disaster relief, surgeries for kids, they seemed to just be all over the place helping people and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Today, Shanti and Claudia rebuilt their credit and have since bought a new home. Their income has doubled and they currently give at the Founder’s level. They love to give and they love the joy of being obedient to God.

Shanti says, “If you just walk in faith, and give your tithe, give your gifts, He will take care of you.”

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About The Author

Michelle Wilson
Michelle
Wilson

Michelle’s been with CBN since 2003 as a 700 Club reporter-producer. She’s an award-winning producer who’s traveled to seven countries producing life-changing stories on healings, salvations, and natural disasters, reaching millions for Jesus. She’s an entrepreneur and humanitarian who gives generously to those in need through Michelle Wilson Ministries.