It’s Time to Fly
Tomorrow is a busy day, so we celebrated my husband’s birthday today. He f i n a l l y caught up with his MUCH older wife. Ha.
In one of our recent conversations he reminded me that it was this time last year when he received a phone call about his position/job at Sysco Corporate being eliminated. I cannot believe it’s been a year. I remember every detail of that day—including every emotion that ran through me when I came home from preschool. Our plans for the future changed drastically….instantly.
Sooo…here we are now, living in Florida. Who would’ve ever thought? Mark is with the same company, and we have a roof over our head and food on the table. God provided, and I’m so very thankful.
We shared with close friends (and family) that we both knew we were meant to be here for other reasons. Deep down we thought our closed door wasn’t about a job—we knew there was something more. He’s now serving on staff at Family Church, and all I have to do is listen to him talk about it and see his face light up to know THIS is why God closed doors a year ago.
I wanted to share the above so that you’ll understand why the following brought tears to my eyes this evening. It’s a devotional called “Chase the Lion”, by Mark Batterson. (He’s the lead pastor at National Community Church) If you are struggling with a closed door, or maybe you’re making a difficult decision about one that’s now open—please read. I wish I had read it a year ago.
“God’s Greatest Pre Moves”
For thirteen years, National Community Church met in the movie theaters at DC’s Union Station, where a hundred thousand people pass through every day. That not only put us in the middle of the marketplace, it put us on the map. Not many churches have their own metro stop, train station, or taxi stand that drops off at their front door!
That golden opportunity started with a phone call informing me that Giddings School, the public school where we met, was closing its doors because of fire code violations. My immediate reaction was fear because it put us on the verge of becoming a homeless church. But I soon discovered that some of God’s best pre moves are closed doors.
As I look back, I laugh at the fact that I was so scared when the doors to Giddings School closed. I even have the journal entry where I wrote that we had been “backed into a corner.” It felt like we had fallen into a pit with a lion on a snowy day. I couldn’t see a way out at the time.
Think about Revelation 3:7: “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” I love the first half of that promise. The second half? Not so much. But you can’t claim half of God’s promises. It’s a package deal.
If you’re like me, you love open doors. But some of the greatest miracles in my life—and I bet in yours—have started with a closed door. So praise God for both!
Now let me shift the metaphor to give you some encouragement if you’re feeling worried right now:
Like a mother eagle that pushes her eaglets out of the nest when they are strong enough to fly, God might be stirring your nest. You may be afraid of falling. But God’s intent is to get you to fly.”
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