God Blesses Radical Repentance

By Edwin and Meshia Waleh

Medical School & Debt

Since I can remember, I (Meshia) have always wanted to be a doctor.  I believe God made me to be a doctor, however, I wish I had taken more time to research the value and reward proposition before embarking on my medical school journey.  I would have made different school choices and not racked up $500,000 in debt.  I had no idea how challenging it would be to pay that off.

Serving in Honduras

During my medical residency, Edwin and I got married.  We both had a passion to serve abroad and decided to go to Honduras on a one-year mission challenge.  Had we not been in student loan bondage, we would have lived abroad and served for many more years.  While serving in Honduras was a fantastic experience, we had to return to the U.S. to earn more to repay our debts.

Kids & Life

We moved to Columbia, South Carolina for work.  We both had great jobs earning lots of money but were baffled because we were still living paycheck to paycheck.  Yes, we had massive medical student loans to repay, but we realized that we were also living outside of our means.  We had to admit to ourselves that we had no self-control when we used credit cards.

On top of that, we welcomed our first set of twins in 2016, and Meshia stayed home for two years, which was very important to us.  Those were pressured times, and the situation forced us to repent and become radical about getting rid of our debt.  We wholeheartedly sought the Lord’s guidance and prayed to escape debt bondage.  He eventually delivered us from our folly and our debt.

Iowa & Kids

We specifically prayed for deliverance from our debt and God miraculously answered by giving Meshia a tremendous opportunity to work in Iowa for a large salary, including a generous student debt repayment benefit.  It was exactly what we needed!  Although Iowa was not our ideal location, we humbled ourselves and followed where God was leading us.

It turned out to be a great experience and some of the best-spent years of our lives.  The rural Northwest Iowa slower pace of life allowed us to think more objectively about our financial stewardship.  We also made a lot of friends and welcomed our second set of twins during that time!

Because we truly repented of our financial sins, we got serious and paid off our credit cards, vehicles, and most importantly, our student loans!  Over this time, we have developed a conviction: "Do not owe anyone anything, but love each other.  Whoever loves his neighbor has done what the Law says to do." (Romans 13:8).  We cut up our credit cards and are better for it!  

After four years of hard work, sacrifice, and a renewed mind in Iowa, we earned our financial liberty – no debt remained outstanding to anyone or anything!  Now that we have paid off our debts, we can focus on family, work-life flexibility, charity, missions, and, most importantly, options to do whatever we want.

No Return to Debt Slavery

We recently moved to North Carolina to be close to family.  Now that we are more settled, we are sometimes tempted to return to our former ways.  Yet, our conviction and mindset continue to steer us on the right path.  We hope our experience encourages you.  It is never too late to change and follow the narrow financial path!  Take care, and God bless.  -The Waleh Family