When God Closes a Door......

He always opens a window. We’ve heard this popular quote all our lives. I’m not even sure who said it, but I bet we have all said it, or been told it at some point. But is it true? And more importantly, do we set ourselves and our children up for unrealistic expectations when we repeat popular phrases like this? I don’t know for sure.
I think that it is true, but it doesn’t always happen immediately. In my life, sometimes God closes a door, but instead of then immediately opening a window, He says, “Now that the door is closed, I have something to work out in you. So for now, you need to be still in this place and trust Me. I will open the window in My timing. Be patient.”
I have been in this very position for the past couple of years. Knowing that a door was being closed, and wanting it to just hurry up and close so God could open a window and I could move on from this particular trial and we could be done with it. But instead, it has been a long, drawn-out process. And in that process I have experienced such a growth in my relationship with Him.
Paul said in Romans 5:3-4 “… we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
What I have realized also through this process is that my precious children are watching me. They are watching me to see how I respond to the waiting and the suffering and not knowing. It is as if they are asking, “Mom, is God’s Word really true?” Is He really trustworthy? Does He really love us and want what’s best for us, even when there is suffering?”
And in this, like many other times, my attitude and my example is either going to reinforce God’s Word in their lives, or it’s not. I have not been perfect in this area….trust me! But I have gotten better. Maybe that’s what God has been waiting for, for me to get better at trusting Him.
So, have hope my friend. If a door is being closed in your life, and it doesn’t look like there is an open window that you can see, be patient. Sit in the presence of God and enjoy the view and understand that the closed window is protecting you from more storms. God is using this time of waiting to perfect His plan for you. Teach this to your kids and remember their little eyes and ears are taking in more than you know. God will plant your family where He wants in His timing so that you all can grow deep roots in Him and bear much fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

Have a blessed day!

~Kym