Don't just shut the door; SLAM IT!

"Lord, if this is not Your will, don't just shut the door; SLAM IT!" 

Thanks, Will Tate for teaching me this prayer.  I have used it many times but especially recently because we have been doing that oh-so-fun activity of house hunting.  At first, it was fun!  And I'm totally an "enjoy the journey" kind of girl.  But then the process turned into a process that could possibly result in a stomach ulcer.  

I had a friend as me not too long ago "How do I know that was the Lord's sign and not my brain just tell me what I want to hear?"

So, of course, my response was, "Oh, I know exactly the answer to all of your questions because I have all of this stuff figured out, and I know exactly what God's plan is for me and all the steps to get there.  Not to brag, but I'm kind of an expert on this."  

Just Kidding!!! 

I told her I'm right there too.  I ask this question all the time.  It's not easy to know what God's plan is and His will and His purpose.  I know staying in constant prayer and reading His Word every day helps, but the answer is usually still not simple.  And I told her I often pray that if this is not God's will, don't just shut the door; SLAM IT so I know that's not the path you want me to take.

We started looking for a house a few months ago.  We found a great house that was new construction and in our budget.  The only downside was it had a small yard, but we decided to go for it.  We had it under contract, but the deal fell through a week before closing.  Was this God saying this wasn't the house for us?  Was God telling us to save more money for a down payment?  Was he saying yes, no, or not yet?  I had no idea.  

We waited a couple of months, and then last week, we saw the same house was still on the market.  It gets better!  The seller had reduced the price of the home, and interest rates had gone down.  Bingo!  So we made another offer... and so did someone else.  The seller accepted the other person's offer.  I was shocked at how calm I was, but I kept saying, "God slammed the door.  Clearly, this wasn't the right house for us.  It'll be fine."

Later that week, another house popped up on the market.  And I thought it was perfect.  It was only a year old, was in a great location, and best of all had a big, beautiful backyard!  It had been on the market for about 17 hours when we made our offer along with three other people.  This time, when the door slammed, I wasn't so calm about it.  I pouted and wallowed and ate way too much junk food and watched too much tv.  

But then the next day, we received the sweetest letter from the sellers via both of our realtors (glorified note-passing) explaining their situation and why they took the other offer, and they wished us the best of luck finding a home.  I was floored!  They did not have to do this, but it was so incredibly kind of them to do this.  I felt really guilty for all the wallowing.

So the only option left was to wait for something else to come along.  

So now my prayer was, "Lord, I have NO idea what You're up to, but if You could let me in on whatever it is, I'd appreciate it." 

Then I got the phone call today... that first house that we first had the offer on might be available again.  So do we go for it?  Or do we wait for something else to come along?  We decided to sleep on it before making any decisions, and we found out the next morning this house was not an option. The door was slammed shut. 

When Ben and I got home yesterday, we were relieved more than anything.  And for the first time that I can remember, I thanked God for slamming doors.