“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” -Matthew 7:7-8
Prayer works! As we reflect on our move to Puerto Rico, and how everything everything transpired, we can only conclude that IT IS A GOD THING. Ever since this move was a desire in our hearts, God has been working it out detail by detail. One of our favorite channels is HGTV. Our DVR is full of the many housing hunting series. Like most people, we watched it and said it would be great to live on the beach one day. The problem with “one day” is that day never comes, or we wait till we retire to make the move. We began asking ourselves why not make the move now and enjoy it, if we get the opportunity?
We prayed often asking God to allow us to move somewhere warm near the beach where we could live and serve. Sure enough God answered the call, and our jobs opened up so that we could live anywhere in the contiguous United States. Where in this huge country with 1000’s of miles of coastlines did we land? Williamsburg, VA–a city not far from the ocean but not particularly close either. We did not seek out places by the beach to move. We did not walk through that door God had opened for us. We ended up further away from what we were praying for. Can you relate? Of course With God, nothing is wasted. He used our time in Williamsburg as preparation for what was to come.
After almost two years in Williamsburg we asked God again to show us somewhere we could live and serve him with a warm climate near the ocean. Not much later, our jobs extended work locations to Puerto Rico. Matthew 7 calls God our Father in Heaven who gives good and advantageous things to those who keep asking him!
This time we decided to step out on faith; to not just ask, but to seek also. We planned a trip to Puerto Rico for our tenth wedding anniversary. Those months leading up to that trip were difficult for a number of reasons. Our “planner, perfectionist” tendencies tried often to take over. We learned everything we could about Puerto Rico and went back and forth many times about whether it was the right thing to do for our family. We also let doubt start to crept in, and began looking other “safer” places to move like Virginia Beach or Jacksonville. In the end we decided to trust that God would show us where we should go and to wait patiently for our trip.
On our anniversary trip, we continued our search and God laid out the way for us. After worshipping with a church on the island, we met a woman who had moved just a year before. She gave us the contact information for her realtor. God presented us the opportunity to knock and we did. We contacted the realtor on that Sunday. He contacted us right back and began finding houses for us to view. He set up viewings the next day, and when we walked into the third house, we knew it was the one. We started moving forward on securing the house, and checked one more time about working from Peurto Rico. That is when a stumbling block was placed in front of the door God had opened for us.
We found out that our job would require flying to DC for five days each month. We stopped and prayed for God to be with us as we stepped over the stumbling block and walked through the door he had opened for us. We secured the house on Tuesday and flew back home on Wednesday. God is such a good, good Father! Not only only did he facilitate a three day house search, but he just kept on giving. Less than a week after we returned home, we received notice that the job requirement to return to DC was removed. Praise God! He sealed the deal and we were set for our adventure in Puerto Rico. God even worked out the rental of our home in the states by sending us a family from Puerto Rico to live in our house!
We know that we are here “for such a time as this.” God has an assignment that He has given all of us–“to go into all the world and make disciples.” For now, Puerto Rico is our part of the world, where is yours? Will you let your light shine for
the Father wherever you are?
How much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:11)