Getting honest about money

Money...no matter how much you have you can always use more, right? I consider myself sort of an expert on always needing more. Tim and I have never had much. We were still in college when we married, and neither of us had had much worldly success before we started our family. To be honest, by the standards of many people, we still have not had much worldly success! And, to be honest, we still don't have much money.
However, strange as it may sound, I honestly have never really worried or cared about money. Tim and I got married, bought our first little townhouse, and started our family all without much thought to whether we could afford it all or not. We had decided early on that I would not work when our children were young and so after our daughter was born I quit my job, again without really worrying about how we would make ends meet. I remember during those early years, having only about $20 dollars to live on after paying all the bills. Somehow or other, there was always food on the table, gas in our cars, and diapers for the baby though. Thankfully, our income has grown a little over the years. Of course, our family seems to have grown much, much faster and so we still live paycheck to paycheck, sometimes not sure how we will afford everything we need. Yet, still there is food on the table, gas in the cars, and diapers for the baby.
If I do not really worry or care about the size of our bank account, why, you may ask do I bother "blogging" about it? The truth is I know too many people who make their life decisions based on money and it makes me sad. I have friends and family who lose sleep over money. I know many people who are unhappy about the state of their lives and the choices they have made but feel they have no other option, because of money. I have heard too many stories of people who wish their life was different but feel they cannot change it, because of money. How many mother's claim they desperately want to be home with their children but can't, because of money?
On our limited income, Tim and I have had to do without a lot of things. Our children do not have all that their friends have because we cannot afford it all. I think, though, of all the people I know who struggle with too little money, Tim and I have had to sacrifice the least in life. We have not sacrificed time with our family. We have not sacrificed raising our children the way we think is right. We have not sacrificed our sense of peace because of money. And through it all God has provided.
Living within our means is getting harder. With five children, mounting medical bills, and a house that seems to be falling apart around us some days, a little more money would come in very handy. I do find myself wondering lately how God is going to rise to the challenge to provide for us now, yet He never lets us down. He provides for all that we need to live physically. And even more importantly, He provides us with peace and comfort if we just trust in Him and do what he has called us to do by putting our family first. I hope and pray that others, who are in a similar financial state, can learn to worry less, trust more, and follow God's plan even if it doesn't pay well.