Financial Failure: The Dark Before the Dawn

Kate Phillips — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:37:52 +0000

I spoke with a friend tonight who is in the process of filing for bankruptcy. She has lost her livlihood, her credit, her car, even her own place to live. After two failed business ventures followed by a health challenge that left her briefly incapacitated, she finds herself now with mountains of debt and no real income. Falling on the mercy of family and friends who have fed and sheltered her the last few months, she has retreated to an earlier profession, wrangling a few hundred dollars a month from friends and aquaintances who can afford to hire her on occasion. She has lost what most people would consider “everything.” As I spoke to my friend, I noticed a palpable shift in her since we last spoke a number of weeks ago. Was it depression? Resignation? Anger, shame, or blame? Not at all. While those emotions had become her loyal companions a few months ago, now, in her words, she has discovered “peace.” Even joy, gratitude, and new reasons for living! She talked about the the importance of “living in the present,” letting go of past regrets and future fears. She spoke of her newfound certainty that she would be alright, no matter what circumstance came her way. And she decribed her confidence that she has not been forgotten by God, but is rather sustained by a God who has been faithful through this storm. She knows the road to financial recovery could be a long one, but she is discovering how to enjoy each day to the fullest, regardless of her financial situation. Contast this to the tales we have heard the last few months in the news, of devastated fund managers and unsuccessful or unemployed executives who have chosen to end their own lives. French fund manager Thierry de la Villehuchet, a well-respected man of significant personal wealth and honorable morals, committed suicide when he learned that several of his clients’ fortunes, as well as much of…

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Financial Failure: The Dark Before the Dawn