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When God Opens A Window - Duck
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When God Opens A Window, Duck!
You have probably heard the expression, “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” Mougie Pastor says, “When God opens this window, you had better duck!”
I met Mougie while passing through Lafayette, Louisiana. I spent a night at the delightful Aaah! T’ Frere’s Bed And Breakfast. I had a truly Cajun experience, including their incredible Oooo La La Breakfast. When I met Mougie, she was wearing her red silk pajamas. I asked if she was a Christian and she began to laugh. “Honey, let me tell you my story,” she said as drug me into her living room.
“We have not always owned and managed a bed and breakfast. God is full of surprises. Years ago, we were the owners of one of Lafayette’s most prestigious Cajun restaurants. I was active in the business community and well thought of. I took pride in my success. I believed God was blessing me. In fact, I know he was.”
“Suddenly, the economy in Lafayette collapsed and small businesses closed everywhere. The community simply could no longer support my very elite and large restaurant. I did everything I knew to stay in business. I kept thinking the economy would turn around. I worked harder. My husband, Pat, and I put all of our money into saving our business. We even sold our home and used the money.”
“I begged God to save our restaurant. I believed He would. Things continued to get worse. Finally, the money ran out. We had to give up. We were defeated and discouraged. As a public figure, I was embarrassed.” She paused to wipe the tears from her eyes.
“I didn’t understand what God was doing. This was a very difficult time emotionally and physically for our family. We turned to God and our church. We now realize that spiritually, this brought us closer together as family. In losing everything, we realized what was important.”
They still had two of their eight children living at home and had to support them. “Eight children!” I exclaimed. “You must really like children.”
Mougie laughed aloud. “I’m Catholic. That’s what we do.”
She continued. “Our church and our faith saw us through this transition. During the most difficult time, God gave me a scripture from Jeremiah. It told me that God had plans to prosper me.”
“Do you remember the scripture reference?” I asked.
“I told you I was Catholic. We do not memorize things like that.”
I joked back, “I’m Baptist and we want to know things like that.” I went to my room and did a computer search. Her scripture was Jeremiah 29:11-14.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity." (from New International Version)
For a time, they worked for other people. Being frugal, their financial situation began improving. They were restless. “God didn’t want us too comfortable because he had other plans for us.” Pat and Mougie had always worked together. They longed to spend their days together again. The last straw was Mougie unfairly losing her restaurant job. “We hit a bottom emotionally. We knew we had to go even deeper in our walk with God. We went to our knees. God spoke through a miraculous series of events. His will became very clear to us. We heard him say that he wanted us to work together and to work for ourselves. We decided to trust God and act.”
“By this time, we had saved a little money. We did some calculations and thought we had enough to get a loan and buy a small restaurant. We planned to start over with a much simpler business model. Restaurant work was all we knew. This was our plan. God had other plans. Pat and Mougie began driving around to look at property. They began dreaming again. “On one of these drives, we found ourselves looking at a combination gas station and restaurant. It was in our budget. I took one look at it and laughed. I may be an excellent decorator but even I couldn’t fix up that place. Besides, with all of the fire and oil I use to cook with, I would probably ignite the gas in the gas station. We realized we were on the same street as T’Frere’s. It had been in our community for years. We knew it had been put up for sale two years ago and wondered about its fate.”
They drove by and saw that it was still up for sale. They also noticed that the real estate agent was a close friend. “I was not interested in buying T’Frere’s but seeing my friend’s name made me realize that I needed a realtor to help us buy a restaurant. I called her and told her what we were looking for.”
“Mougie, you must see this place. I cannot believe I didn’t think of you. It’s perfect for you,” the friend said excitedly.
“You’re not listening to me,” Mougie gently chided. “I said we were looking for a restaurant.”
“Mougie, you must see this place! It’s you. Please take a look,” her friend pleaded.
“The minute I went inside, I started visualizing where the art from my former restaurant would go. The house fit my style of furniture perfectly. I fell in love with the place and began mentally decorating it.”
Between the two of them, Pat is the accountant. He put pencil to paper. “The place can’t make money with the number of bedrooms rooms it currently has.” Disappointed, Mougie thought that was the end of things. Pat continued figuring. He came back to Mougie and said, “If we added some additional rooms and could keep them booked, it could make money.” He investigated SBA loans and the cost of adding additional rooms.
“By his calculations, SBA would lend us enough to build what we needed. We had very little cash but Pat believed we could scrape together enough cash to make a 10 % down payment on the loan. We prayed and God told us to make an offer on the house. Our offer was accepted within twenty-four hours. Our heads were spinning. We made this offer before we had money to purchase it or to redecorate it. We started the paper work on the SBA loan. We found contractors and began learning about running a bed and breakfast.”
If Pat is the accountant, Mougie is the sales person and marketing specialist. She was very concerned about the current customers of T’Frere’s. “I knew that occupancy was the key to success. Every customer was critical. I wanted to make sure the business kept running while the paper work went through.” Mougie realized that the current owners had lost heart in the business. She was worried about the reputation. “I called to ask if I could put in an answer machine. I was going to offer to check the messages and book the rooms for them. That was when I discovered that they had moved and no one was running the business.”
Immediately and frantically, Mougie called the real estate agent. By the end of the day, the real estate agent had gained permission for her to move in and keep the bed and breakfast open. “I went home and told my family to pack, that we were moving in tonight. They thought I had lost my mind. I argued while I packed. God was guiding my steps and I was afraid to disobey. We moved in with no paper work signed and no loan in place. We did not have enough rooms to support a business. I began running a business that was technically owned by someone else.”
James 2:26
As the boly without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (from New International Version)
This all took place years ago. They got their loan. They added the additional rooms. Mougie’s eye for decorating created something beautiful. They have marketed well and were voted “Best Of the Best” by the Times of Acadiano Readers poll. Pat’s calculations and business management proved accurate. Mougie’s sales and marketing efforts along with her excellent cooking have paid off. They have maintained a 70% occupancy rate since they opened and are financially successful. They easily paid off the loan and have made significant returns on their investments.
“Are you happy?’ I asked.
She laughed. She waved her arms around the room we were standing in. She said, “Look at this. I had better be happy. This was God’s plan for my life. He did it all. I am afraid to be anything but happy. This was God’s gift to me and I had better appreciate it.”
Psalms 150:1-6
Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; Praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; Praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, Praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, Praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, Praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. (from New International Version)
“Can I write your story,” I asked.
“Of course!” she replied. “I tell everyone my story.”
Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
(from New International Version)
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