How 18,000 Greenbacks Found Their Way Home

This is the tale of my biggest mistake to date. The one that could have sent my husband packing....

Once upon a time I was desperate for a job I could do from home. I found an adorable children's clothing company that was just starting up as a direct-sales business. The clever and charming owner called me personally when I sent my kit money in. I was a naive and trusting girl. We developed a "friendship". Words full of magical fluff spilled from her mouth. Soon I was her number two - her Chief of Staff, she proclaimed.

When the company was behind in production - I offered to do anything I could to help. She just needed a little money. Taking equity out my house I gave my new best friend $18,000 dollars for small ownership in her company.

Fast forward - her practices got worse. Or maybe she was slipping on the cover-up. I was flabbergasted when she admitted to me that she used MY money to buy a big screen TV and a sectional couch. She started ignoring my phone calls. The friends I had made were leaving the business - warning me as they went. I stayed, in hopes that I could still help her and afraid to leave my investment. Finally, the writing was on the wall - in ALL CAPS and bold letters. GET OUT NOW!!!!!! So, I did. I said goodbye to my hard work, my hopes for my future as Chief of Staff, my money, and most upsetting: my belief in the goodness of this person.

After I was no longer involved in the goings-on I tried to work with her to get my $18,000 back. I learned (finally) con artist's don't work well with others. So, I went to lawyers. Lawyers said "Ha, $18,000. Funny. Call me when you lose $100,000." I realized the entire thing was all part of her plan. She had actually borrowed $30,000 at that time, my $18,000 and someone else's $12,000. Not to mention a bunch of little loans. I found out that she owed a lot of people small sums. Man, she was GOOD at this con artist thing.

So, we gave up. Life went on. I missed my money. I talked to it every so often. Asking it to find it's way back to me. I laid out my purse at night in hopes that it would catch the familiar scent of me and come crawling home. But, alas, it did not.

Kevin loved me anyway. He never once got mad at me or called me a stupid idiot.

Time passed. We were not looking to move but we found this great house in our special Leave it To Beaver neighborhood. It was still in the city limits but overflowing with Mother Nature's abundance. Our own oasis. Well, Outdated 80's Oasis. We were smitten with the potential. We put in an offer. It was accepted. This was January.

While waiting to close on the house we learned that a water pipe broke. It flowed for a day or two and water had gone everywhere. We were told "It's bad. It might be too much water." Sure enough water had flooded our oasis. It started in the kitchen. Spread to the dining room. Poured down the stairs to the basement (it's a walkout). Dripped through the kitchen floor to the basement ceiling. Goodbye basement carpet, ceiling and walls. Goodbye kitchen walls and floor. Goodbye carpet in the dining room. Goodbye flaming red carpet in the den.

The bank that owned the house had three days to pull out. I don't think they even thought of it. They were sick and tired of the house. They hired a mold guy. He eventually cleared it to be put back together. They fixed the walls in the kitchen and painted the entire kitchen a color that I chose. They replaced the ceramic tile on the kitchen floor with tile we liked. They put back the basement ceiling and put in carpet that we chose. The red carpet was replaced. We received a credit for the dining room floor and basement walls. We had upgrades planned for those. We ended up buying the house for the original agreed upon price, before the damage.

A few months later I was expressing my gratitude all over again, silently to God. I realized in a flash the oddest coincidence. The cost the bank incurred to put back our house was $17,800!! I could not believe it. The Money Heard Me! My 18,000 Greenback Friends Had Come Home!

Do I sometimes wish that my clever friend would wake up and realize how wrong she was and send us the money in the mail with a long apology? Of course - but only once in a great while. Thing is I am grateful. I had an amazing experience working in her company. I met great people. I gained confidence in myself. I realize now what the lawyers were saying - if I had more money at the time I probably would have given it to her . Con artists can do HUGE damage. Mine was not huge. And I had the opportunity to experience God's magic. There is a greater force at work.