Navy family face challenges together

When Karl Christensen re-tired from the Navy five years ago, he and his wife Donna pursued their dream of simple rural living by purchasing 60 acres in Lassellsville, in Fulton County.

Only their faith saved that dream from turning into a nightmare as hard times pushed the couple and their two children, 17-year-old Charlotte and 11-year-old Jenna, to the edge of a financial precipice.

The family expected to sacrifice in pursuit of their dream. While they have plenty of space and fresh air, they have no cell phone service and their children live apart from friends and the distractions that their suburban and urban peers take for granted.

"We didn't understand what that simple lifestyle meant," said Mrs. Christensen. "We took a chance to follow our heart's desire to live in the country. It's been tough."

Mr. Christensen retired with a pension, but knew they needed more.

Joint effort
So the Christensens started a convenience store and pizzeria called "Snappies" in their small community, located about halfway between Dolgeville and Johnstown. Their goal was to establish a community store and then sell it.

In many ways, the shared task of running a business brought the family closer together, but they couldn't make it work financially.

Battered by the expenses of running a small business, the Christensens closed the store in January. After banks started to get tighter with credit, they found the business impossible to sell.

As a result, this year has been crunch time both across the recession economy and in the Christensen household. Mr. Christensen sold his hobby, a small sawmill, for $10,000, and the couple and their daughters lived off that income for much of this year.

Mrs. Christensen has tried to earn some extra cash through her photography hobby, through selling cordwood, and as a substitute teacher in local public schools.

The family has found some solace in their Catholic faith. They are members of St. Joseph's parish in Dolgeville, where they serve as eucharistic ministers, Mrs. Christensen volunteers as a Sunday school teacher, Charlotte is a reader and Jenna is an altar server.

Letting go
They needed faith to overcome the year's challenges, said Mrs. Christensen. For example, in one October week, her 10-year-old car broke down on the New York State Thruway and her husband hit a deer in his vehicle. Distraught, she prayed over the catastrophic impact of losing the family's transportation while meditating upon an image of Jesus.

"Why are you mourning a material object?" she said was the answer to her prayer. Fresh from that spiritual experience, Mrs. Christensen prefers to reflect upon what the family has going for it, not the obstacles it faces.

They enjoy simple pleasures as a family: going to Mass together on Sundays, shopping in town after church for the week's necessities. Her husband's parents live in the area and have been willing to help out with the children and provide emotional support.

"We're not all going in different directions. Our family life is really working. We're hanging out together a lot," she said.

At times, Mrs. Christensen misses the excitement of the family's military life, which included trips across Europe. But what some might perceive as the quiet boredom of a rural area is an opportunity for contemplation.

Tide turns?
Their fortunes initially seemed to improve lately: Mrs. Christensen was elected to the local school board, an opportunity she sees as a chance to broaden her horizons and serve the community.

Their transportation crisis improved when, right before their car problems, a disability check for an operation Mr. Christensen had a few years ago arrived in the mail from the Veterans Administration. They see the timing as providential.

Mr. Christensen found a job - after being forced to downplay his extensive experience in leadership with the Navy, where he was a commander - as a management trainee for a convenience store chain. But the job did not work out, so, as his wife remarked, "Here we go back again into 'extreme budget land.'"

Mrs. Christensen has taken away lessons from this difficult year. "You have to stay in the present moment, enjoy what you have now, and God will take care of the rest," she said. She recently decided to go back to college to get her degree in early childhood education. With a daughter leaving for college in 2010 and the family still under financial strain, Mrs. Christiansen remarked, "Let's hope that it is true that the federal government supports education."

In all, she sees their struggles as redemptive. The couple returned to their Catholic faith after many years away. They embraced it wholeheartedly. Mrs. Christensen found that their work at the family convenience store "was like a missionary thing": It was an excellent place to talk to people experiencing difficulties.

Her message remained simple: "The only security you really have is your faith."

(11/05/09)