We’ve all heard the saying “thank God for unanswered prayers”, right? Well, the same goes for closed doors perceived as missed opportunities. In 2007, I learned one of my biggest life lessons about the way God directs and steers our lives when we are ready to receive His guidance. Think about it, how is He going to do this for us when we have an independent mind and free-will to do whatever we want? Someone much wiser than me told me once, when you’re on God’s path, life is easy. Things come freely because its exactly what He desires for us and that is where we find peace. So I’ll give you one example of a closed door that turned into a lovely blessing in disguise.
When Keith, my adorable husband, and I decided that we wanted to find a way to give back of our time, talent and treasure I began searching for a charity organization that seemed like a good fit for our heart. I started at the local level and found what seemed to be some wonderful causes and I’m certain that they are. However; after placing a few phone calls and leaving voice mail messages expressing our eagerness to give, I received no response. This was strange and certainly not what I expected. So, I tried a few more without success. Scratching my head and feeling a bit frustrated over this, I just sat down and prayed to God to show me exactly what it is that he is tugging our hearts to do. After that deliberate prayer, I got up and walked straight to my computer and began searching randomly online. I don’t recall he exact search phrase but I stumbled upon the ONE Campaign website. From there I noticed a “partners” page so I clicked on it to find a long overwhelming list of website logos and links to other charity organizations. For some reason, the Opportunity International logo jumped off the page at me. A week back, Keith had mentioned to me a concept called micro-finance and how it was helping impoverished entrepreneurs in third world countries get small micro loans to start a business – a sustainable solution to ending poverty. So, the thought seed was planted in my mind. As I read through Opportunity’s website, I read all about their long history of helping the world of poverty through micro-finance. In fact, they are one of the oldest and the largest Christian micro-finance organization in the world today. I got so excited just reading their “client’s” stories and how they had worked their way out of poverty. The goose bumps overwhelmed my body and I started to draft an email to this fine group telling them about my interest in serving their cause. It’s funny how nervous I was that they too might not respond. Au Contrare! This time the response was much, much different. Not only did I get an IMMEDIATE response by email, I got three emails from multiple people and follow-up phone calls expressing their gratitude for my interest and how much they welcomed our support. WOW! Now that was way more than I expected. I guess God wanted to be sure to leave no doubt. Today, Keith and I help serve their mission through support and ambassadorship. It is the perfect fit for our hearts and we are so blessed to be a part of this movement.
So, thank GOD for those closed doors at the local level that never opened up. Not because they aren’t wonderful organizations but because God had a different purpose for us serve. Sometimes I think its best to just let those difficult doors be and stop trying to pry them open. It’s a tricky thing because one could argue perseverance is the key. I can certainly relate to that but since I began letting go and letting Him lead, the answers and open doors are always there so perseverance to pursue something difficult is never required. One open door leads to another and so forth. All that I am sure of is that He knows exactly what we need and if we get out His way and just ask, the doors are wide open!
Sometime soon I will share the story of two canceled trips to Ghana in a short time frame which left me devastated and confused but redirected us to an adventure in Rwanda and where we expect to carry out some of our second half service – He is truly amazing!
“God’s desire is the doorway to eternal bliss”
~Teresa Devine
