Doors

My daughter Molly has two roommates for their upcoming school year in Austin.  They began their due diligence in finding a place to live mid summer, by choosing a precious house to lease; got all the papers signed, guarantor releases etc, and the house that was to be leased was sold out from under their commitment. 

Prayerfully, a new search began, and again they found a house that was struck the fancy of them all.  Again applications were filled out, deposits accepted and they began imagining how the rooms would be divided etc.  But there were a few kinks: the owner did now want to budge on some house related requests and began putting demands on the girls that were unreasonable about how the property and house was to be maintained and managed. There were several disclosures that were omitted when the house was shown and it not only caused great confusion but realtor/owner controversies factored into the house being pulled from the lease market. Again, they were out of a place to live.  

School was to start in a week and the pressure was now on. Molly was stuck at home battling an onslaught of fever and congestion, and while one roommate was out of town, the other one,  Leigh went up early to Austin one morning to look at several scheduled properties. She sent pictures of the one she thought would best suit them and all agreed and they hustled and got all the paperwork done and had the keys by Sat morning, without any hassle. It was amazing how quickly and effortlessly this all came together.  School was starting on Wednesday. God had prevailed, but it was in his timing, not theirs.  

They thought they knew what they wanted, and where they wanted to live, and the properties were great but God knew there was something better. Sometimes we have to go through the hoops of searching before we settle in on what we had not previously considered.  This place that they are living is just wonderful. It is a town house rather than a house and the location is great, it is fresh, it is new, it is clean with low maintenance, and the female owner is a recent graduate of UT and very compatible, who lived in the house before they did. The house will be sold at years' end and the find was clearly of God's direction.  

I have had the same house experience with a permanent home.  We found what we thought was the perfect house, had a verbal commitment but by the time we did the paperwork, it was contracted to someone else.  I remember being so disappointed, and that disappointment lasted a while, but in my heart, I knew that we had prayed about this and there must be something else better. And sure enough God did have the perfect house that just had not come on the market yet. And it is a house that we still live in and love.  

We think we know what is best for us, what would fit our needs and satisfy our longings, but in fact it is God who knows so much better that we do what we need or what would best suit us.  When we pray, if we would just remember to include God's will into our calculations and trust that when a request or a decision has been covered by prayer and then it falls through, then be looking for the next opportunity that arises. God has a way of bringing His opportunities to the forefront when we least expect it, but after he has conditioned us to receive it. It might be something completely different that you had envisioned but that completely different something might be just the thing that God knows will work perfectly for you.  

I sometimes get something in my mind and hold so tight to it that I cannot begin to let it go until I am forced by circumstances beyond my control to abandon my clutch. And then I realize that if I am prayerfully consistent in submitting my requests to God, and accepting his will,  then if I am supposed to go forward the doors will open and if not they will close. But the bottom line is do I embrace the fact that God sees a whole picture that I can only partially view, and do I prayerfully include HIm in my quest for whatever it is I am seeking? If the answer is yes, then I tend to be at peace when somethign falters and falls through.  I have to accept the fact that my understanding is limited, my vision is restricted, and I cannot even begin to comprehend the surrounding factors that God knows. 

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This story is about a house, but isn't is true with every part of our life, whether it is what job to take, what guy to date, what school the kids should go to, what volunteer activity to get involved in, or even what friends has God chosen for us to love and enjoy?  God is involved in all of the workings of our lives, and when we take the time to call Him for help in making decisions, we can be assured that he is listening and will guide us according to His purposes.  He will close doors that we see no reason to close,  and open doors that we might not ever understand, but if we faithfully pursue His will and His way, he will lead us to a place of contentment, peace and 

continued assurance that He is always with us.  For when we submit to Him, His glory is manifested in the reflection of His grace that is seen through His works. 

Dear Lord, We praise your Holy name, not because you listen to our requests and act on them according to your will, but because of who you are, the lessons you are teaching us and the example you have left for us. May we submit to your authority and gracefully accept the doors that you close and embrace the windows that you open. Amen                    

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!