This is the final "Financial Language" discussion by Janice Thompson, to help us UPGRADE our Finances. We've already had the Driver, Thinker, Partner, Avoider and Idealist.* Now we'll consider the "Overcomer" in a three-part series.
"While I would certainly prefer to counsel with women before a major upset occurs in their life," 
Janice said, "it is often what I call a tsunami-type event that forces women to come face-to-face with financial matters, many for the first time."
Yes, I [Dawn] identify with that. It took a financial meltdown for me to reconsider the scriptures about good stewardship. How much better to think through financial matters before a crisis comes.
Janice continues ...
Regardless of their natural language, women in financial crisis are immediately thrust into a foreign land with little emotional reserve to help them navigate.
Having traveled through a number of foreign countries, I understand the strange sensation of stepping off a plane in a different part of the world where everyone is going about their normal lives, eating their normal foods, speaking their normal language, and it is all so different from what you know.
It can be a bit unnerving until you adapt—but adapt you must!
Ruth comes to mind when I think of a woman adjusting to a foreign land and learning a new culture. Born in Moab, Ruth married a Hebrew man named Mahlon (Ruth 4:10). Ten years later, her husband died. Ruth then chose to relocate with her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem in Judah. Ruth declared, "Your people will be my people" (Ruth 1:16).
This is a profound statement from Ruth who would now be poor in a foreign land. Even the fact that she was a woman would add to her difficulties.
Scripture records the story of the care and concern that helped her mother-in-law, Naomi, overcome the challenges she faced. Ruth so loved Naomi that she was willing to change everything about her own life—the comfort of familiar surroundings, her culture and her language. She was willing to leave everything that brought her security, because she trusted Naomi and Naomi's God.
Ruth's story illustrates the triumph of courage and ingenuity over adverse circumstances. God would ultimately bless her with Boaz, a devoted husband.
In this, we find special significance for Christians. In the gospel of Matthew, five women were included in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-17), and Ruth was one of the five. God honored Ruth's courageous faith both with provision and an incredible place in history!
Sudden or unexpected life-changing events can make a significant difference in a woman's financial life.
If you find yourself in the midst of your own tsunami, perhaps you can have faith to believe that you can remain:
- objective in the face of fear or uncertainty,
- stable as you face a cascade of overwhelming emotions,
- balanced in the face of redefining who you are—and most of all,
- hopeful in the care of a loving God!
Women, through no fault of their own, can find themselves in relationships where they have little say or no control over their finances.
Women in this circumstance are perhaps in the most difficult position of all. Husbands to these women often proceed with risky investments without the collaboration or knowledge of their wives. They may be arrogant, viewing their wives as incapable in this area or simply hiding their willful decisions because of the dissension it may cause.
This is extremely painful to the woman who is aware that her husband is not practicing wise financial principles, and she is undoubtedly headed for a tsunami not of her own making.
Before I address the tsunami events in more detail in future posts, probably the best advice I can leave with you is this:
Be proactive where you can, continue to search out wise counsel, and trust God with that which you cannot control.
There are no easy solutions for this heart-wrenching situation, but we have a BIG GOD!
"And my God will meet all your needs acccording to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Do you feel like you're facing a financial tsunami—perhaps of your own making; perhaps not? Do you believe God can help you become a financial "overcomer"?
In Part Two (June 17), Janice will offer help to survive and thrive in three Tsunami-type events: Disability, Unemployment and Identity Theft. In Part Three (July 17), she will cover surviving the financial stresses of Divorce and Widowhood, and the dealing with Significant Wealth.
Janice Thompson is the co-Founder and CEO of One Degree Advisors, Inc, a comprehensive wealth management firm focused on biblically-based financial solutions. Janice is a Certified Financial Planner®, a Life Stewardship Advisor, and serves on the Board of Directors of Kingdom Advisors. She has two married children and one grandson. She and her husband Tom live in San Diego.
Note: Material adapted from the book, Managing Your Money Maze by Janice Thompson (Revive Our Hearts, 2009).
* Previous Financial Language posts: the Driver, Thinker, Partner, Avoider and Idealist. Also Re: Finances: Are you Thriving or Surviving?