This is a guest post. 

Christmas was coming, my third daughter was a newborn, and our house was crazy, but I could hear God…muffled and in the distance. I didn’t know what He was saying and it was almost as if the chaos was in between us. “I’m sorry God, I tried to listen today, but the house was so loud, and honestly, I’m so tired…maybe we’ll try again tomorrow.”

I could still hear Him, muffled as if He was yelling down to me, but His voice couldn’t quite reach me. “I’m here God! Where are you?”

I felt as if He was lost somewhere in my house and we were playing some strange version of Marco-Polo. “God? Are you under this pile of clothes? Are you in this closet? God? I thought I heard you…what did you say?”

Christmas came and went. I felt proud of myself, I stayed under budget, and didn’t buy any wasteful gifts. For a newbie, I had a pretty “minimalist Christmas”. By the new year I heard God say, “Good job with Christmas, but you still aren’t as happy as you should be, and you know why!”

I listened, and purged, and listened, and purged some more. I stayed up way past my kids’ bedtime and basked in the silence, trying so hard to listen. I thrived when I was purging. I felt in my element, and closer to God than I had in a long time. All I could clearly hear was “less”. He kept saying it in every aspect of my life. Less debt. Less clutter. Less guilt. Less worries. Less less less. I dove in deeper. My new motto became “less is more”.

My husband and I had already spent the year-and-a-half before this on a debt free journey, and by this point the finish line was so close that we could taste it. We had a few thousand, our rental property, and our home left to pay off. Our extra money over the next few months would take care of that lingering few thousand, and then all of a sudden it happened…we were debt free except for both of our houses. I felt as if I had finally emerged from a dark cloud and into this bright open space.

Clarity.

I found Him.

The debt was gone, the clutter was gone, and there was God…waiting…patiently…as He always does for His hard-headed children.

When you have space to move and room to breathe, you can do just that…move and breathe. I decided to move forward and breathe deeper. I decided to listen and not talk…for once.

God has spoken volumes into my life lately, and I know that He has given me this calm and clarity to help others. I’ve already been able to speak inspiration into the lives of several friends and family members through what I have learned during my own journey. I even recently accomplished a huge personal goal of mine and started a website.

We must remember to continue to challenge ourselves, it is only outside of our comfort zones that we will find God and the truest versions of ourselves.

Samantha Womack is a wife and homeschooling mother to three girls. Sami and her husband, Daniel, have spent the last few years getting themselves out of almost a half-a-million dollars worth of personal debt. Along the way she also discovered minimalism and intentional living, which opened so many doors to living a positive life. Sami has always been one to love challenges and anything that led to self-improvement, becoming a personal development coach has proved to be her life’s calling.

For fresh tips on personal development, financial freedom, and living simply, follow Sami at her blog, A Sunny Side Up Life – all about adding joy to your life, sparking inspiration, and finding the zest for life you’ve been craving. You can also find her on Facebook.