For I Stand at the Door and Knock…and Knock…and Knock

The location of my home here in Nakaseke is right in the middle of town. It’s a short walk from the school and any necessities found at the market are readily accessible. It’s truly a blessing. But being in the center of town also means that I have many neighbors close by. More specifically, many small neighbors. Small neighbors who have little hands that persistently knock at my gate and my door and my window. Small neighbors who come at all hours calling my name and endlessly knocking. They come when I’ve had a long, tiresome day. They come when I want to curl up in my bed and sleep. They come when I’m trying to talk on the phone with loved ones at home. No matter what I may be doing they come.

At first, I loved being surrounded by little ones at all hours. I loved always having visitors and hearing the sounds of giggles echo through my home. But then the months went on and I got tired and the knocking continued. I started to lose my patience. I longed for quiet and solitude. Just a few hours a day that I could have to myself. So I started to ignore those little hands at my door. And do you know what happened? Yup, they kept on knocking. They weren’t perturbed by my inability to answer the door. They knew I was there and they knew they wanted me to come out and play, so they didn’t stop. Most nights, I eventually give up and go outside to join them.

I think we can all learn something from those little neighbors constantly knocking at my door. Luke 11:10 tells us, “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” And again in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” God is inviting us in His word to stand at the door of His heart and knock. He wants to open up the door and invite us into His love. He’s waiting to hear the sound of our feeble hands knocking; our small voices calling His name to come outside and join us.

But like me, sometimes God doesn’t respond the first time. Sometimes it takes more than one knock to get an answer. He wants to see how badly we desire Him to come. Will we be persistent or will we give up after the first knock goes unanswered? Child of God, don’t give up when you feel like you’ve been knocking for too long. I’m sure those little hands knocking at my door get tired sometimes, but when I finally answer the door to go out and play with them they’re not thinking about how tired they are. They’re only filled with joy that we are together again! Keep knocking when you’re tired. Be persistent in seeking your answer.

For years I knocked at the door of God’s heart and asked Him when He would send me to the nations. I prayed for an answer and felt anxious when the only one I got was, “Keep waiting, my child.” Why didn’t He answer me sooner? Why wouldn’t He open the door? Because while I was knocking He was doing something in my heart. While I persisted, He cultivated a passion inside me and an inability to give up. Looking back now, I’m grateful He didn’t answer at my first knock. The joy doesn’t just come in the opening; it comes in the seeking and the knocking too. I hear it in the laughter that seeps through the cracks of my door as those little neighbors I’ve come to love so dearly start banging on my door again.

God opened my door at just the right moment. He led me straight through and into the ministry that is Simone’s Kids. While I was busy knocking, He was preparing my gifts and my abilities that I would one day use here. He was preparing me to pour into the high school students, to share my heart in front of others, to teach young children, to give without second thought, to take charge and organize projects, and much more. All things that took time. If he’d answered my knock right away, I don’t know if I would’ve had the courage to preach to and share my heart with the high school students. I wouldn’t have been prepared to deal with the challenges that come with teaching in a third world country. My heart wouldn’t have been able to handle the poverty and brokenness I’ve encountered. I wouldn’t have had the wisdom to know how to handle the daily struggles of our school children. I would’ve lacked the leadership and organizational skills to head a project that gave all our students a dental checkup and treated their dental needs. I couldn’t have given spiritual counsel to those students seeking it.

Simone’s Kids was waiting for me on the other side of my door. I stand in awe every day at the difference that this organization is making for the community of Nakaseke and marvel that I get to be a small part of it. Serving here has brought me more fulfillment than anything else in my life ever has. God surely knows just what He is doing. Trust in that. Believe in Him. And don’t give up. Be persistent. Keep on knocking. What’s waiting on the other side of your door is surely worth the wait.

-Victoria Mason, Intern at Simone’s Kids in Uganda