Have you ever spent so much time working toward something that you almost missed what was happening along the way? You had a plan. A vision. An idea of what you hoped to accomplish. You invested your time, energy, and resources into making it happen. And then, somewhere along the way, something unexpected began to unfold. Let me tell you about making room for God.
It was something you hadn’t planned. Something you couldn’t have anticipated. Something that made you realize the very thing you’d been working so hard to build might have a purpose far greater than you’d originally imagined.
I’ve been discovering that firsthand. And it all started with a simple question my wife, Carmen, has become rather famous for asking.
“What if?”
Sometimes the greatest things God does begin when we simply make room for Him to work.
More Than a Place to Stay
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been sharing portions of our journey with Chateau Mariposa, the home Carmen and I purchased in Weeki Wachee, Florida, in September 2021.
We believed God had led us there for a reason. But if I’m being truthful, we didn’t have a complete picture of what that reason might be.
We knew we wanted to welcome people – hospitality, Carmen’s gift. We envisioned operating a short-term rental, creating beautiful outdoor spaces, and perhaps eventually hosting weddings, celebrations, and other gatherings.
So we started building. First it was a fire pit, then swings. And then other outdoor gathering areas like the courtyard, pergola, and a ground-level deck in the back 40.
There were countless hours of planning, purchasing materials, building, changing plans, and occasionally wondering whether we’d completely lost our minds.
And then something interesting began happening. People started showing up.
Real people. With real stories.
And suddenly, the things we’d been building began taking on an entirely different meaning.
The firepit wasn’t just a firepit anymore. It became a place where conversations could stretch late into the evening.
The swings weren’t simply another amenity. They became places where people could slow down and enjoy a few quiet moments.
And the pergola? Well, it was becoming something much bigger than a beautiful outdoor structure.
We were beginning to discover that hospitality wasn’t simply about providing a place for people to stay. It was about making room for people in our lives.
Sometimes It Starts With a Butterfly
One of my favorite stories involves a group of creative women who were planning to spend some time together making and painting butterflies and all that goes with them – cocoons, chrysalises, caterpillars, and more.
They had already arranged accommodations somewhere else. But their reservation was unexpectedly canceled. Suddenly, they needed another place to stay.
After narrowing their search to two properties, something caught their attention. The name was the deciding factor. They chose the one called Chateau Mariposa. I love that!
Now, if you read my recent devotional, The Butterfly Effect, you know that mariposa is the Spanish word for butterfly.
And here was a group of women planning to create butterflies, looking for a place to stay. But what I love even more is what happened afterward.
One of those women eventually returned to paint a beautiful mural in our courtyard. And she didn’t simply leave behind her artwork. She and her family began joining us for some of our gatherings with friends.
What started as a weekend reservation became a friendship. And now she and her husband are returning to celebrate their wedding anniversary at Chateau Mariposa.
Think about that for a moment. A canceled reservation. Two alternative properties. A name that caught someone’s attention. And an unexpected connection that grew into something much more meaningful.
We certainly couldn’t have planned all of that. But we were grateful to have made room for it.
When Hospitality Becomes Ministry
Then there were the guests who began returning for an entirely different reason. They wanted to spend time with God.
Some of our guests began choosing Chateau Mariposa as a place for personal spiritual retreats. They weren’t looking for elaborate activities or a carefully organized schedule.
They simply wanted to step away from the demands of everyday life, slow down, and spend intentional time drawing closer to Him. And they found an opportunity to do that here.
I have to tell you, that meant something to me. For much of my life, ministry had been an important part of who I was. I’d spent years working with young people, developing leaders, and even pastoring a church.
But life had taken me in directions I never could have anticipated. Like business ownership, business coaching, financial challenges, and driving Uber. And now operating a short-term rental with my wife in Weeki Wachee, Florida.
Not exactly the ministry path I might have imagined years earlier! Yet here were people coming to our home specifically because they wanted to spend time with God.
We weren’t preaching a sermon for them. And we weren’t leading a Bible study or organizing a retreat for them. We were simply providing a place. And they were using that place to seek God.
It reminded me of something I think we sometimes forget. Ministry doesn’t always look like ministry.
Sometimes it happens in a church sanctuary. Sometimes it happens in the back seat of an Uber. And sometimes it happens in a quiet corner of a backyard surrounded by Florida oaks.
Maybe the common denominator was never the location. Maybe it was simply our willingness to make room for God to work.
A Table, Some Pancakes, and the Presence of God
Not long ago, we experienced another one of those moments. I’ve been leading a men’s group through our church called The Forge.
We desire to encourage men to grow in their relationship with God, strengthen their faith, and become the men He created them to be in their homes, in the marketplace, and in their communities.
We decided to do something a little different.
Instead of gathering in our usual setting, we invited the men to Chateau Mariposa for a special morning of worship and prayer.
We called it Draw Near.
And what a morning it was. It took place at sunrise, and there’s something special about worshiping God outdoors. No walls. No ceiling. Just the beauty of His creation surrounding you.
A group of 55 men gathered together to worship, pray, and seek God.
And afterward? Well, we gathered around what we affectionately called the King’s Table for a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Because, let’s face it, a group of men and a hearty breakfast just seem to go together!
But it was about much more than pancakes. It was about brotherhood. Friendship. Encouragement. And creating an opportunity for men to draw closer to God and one another.
As I stood there that morning, I couldn’t help thinking about what our backyard had looked like when we first arrived.
The trees.
The overgrown brush and palmettos.
And the uneven ground.
All those projects that began with Carmen looking across the property and asking, “What if?” And now, here we were. Men gathering in worship and prayer. People sharing a meal together. Relationships growing.
I wondered whether Carmen could have imagined all of this when she first began dreaming about what our backyard might become.
Probably not. I certainly couldn’t have. But perhaps that was part of the beauty of it. We didn’t have to know every person who would come. And we didn’t have to anticipate every gathering.
We simply had to be willing to create the space. And then see what happened.
What Do You Have in Your Hands?
There’s a passage in 1 Peter that has taken on new meaning for me.
1 Peter 4:9–10 (NIV)
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
I love the connection between hospitality, serving others, and being faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us.
Notice that Peter doesn’t say we all have to possess the same gifts, or have the same resources, or serve in the same ways. He simply encourages us to use what we’ve been given.
For Carmen and me, that happens to include a home and property we’ve been developing over the past several years.
But what about you?
Maybe you have a dining room table where someone could find encouragement over a cup of coffee. Maybe you have a skill you could use to help someone who is struggling. Perhaps you have time to listen to a friend who desperately needs to be heard. Or maybe you have a story of God’s faithfulness that someone else needs to hear.
You don’t have to own a beautiful property.
You don’t have to host a retreat.
And you don’t have to lead a ministry.
You simply have to be willing to make what God has entrusted to you available for His purposes. And sometimes, that begins with something as simple as opening a door.
Making Room for What Matters Most
As I’ve been writing my memoir, When Love Found Me, I’ve been looking back at the many unexpected turns my life has taken.
Some were exciting. Some were difficult. And some made absolutely no sense at the time. But one theme keeps emerging.
God has repeatedly used ordinary circumstances, unexpected relationships, and seemingly insignificant moments to accomplish things I never could have planned.
And perhaps that’s what I’ve been learning through Chateau Mariposa. We thought we were building beautiful outdoor spaces. And we were.
We thought we were creating opportunities for guests to enjoy a memorable stay. And we were.
But somewhere along the way, we began discovering that what mattered most wasn’t necessarily what we were building.
It was what God could do through the opportunities we were creating.
The people.
Conversations.
Friendships.
The moments of encouragement.
Opportunities to experience His love.
And here’s what makes that so meaningful to me. You and I don’t have to know exactly how God will use what we offer Him. We don’t have to see the entire picture. We don’t even have to understand all the possibilities. All we need to do is simply be faithful with what He’s placed in our hands.
Because sometimes the most meaningful things God does in our lives begin with a simple willingness to make room.
A Thought to Take With You
Sometimes the greatest thing we can build isn’t a place at all. It’s an opportunity for someone to experience God’s love. Simply make yourself Available…
Challenge of the Week
Take a few moments this week to consider what God has already placed in your hands. Your home, time, talents, relationships, and your experiences. Is there something you’ve been viewing as ordinary that God could use to make an extraordinary difference in someone else’s life?
Ask yourself:
- What has God entrusted to me that I could use to serve someone else?
- Am I so focused on what I’m trying to accomplish that I might be overlooking the people God is placing along the way?
- What’s one practical way I can make room for someone this week for coffee, taking time to listen, share some encouragement?
Whatever it looks like, remember this: You don’t have to create something extraordinary for God to work through it. Sometimes you simply need to make room. So be it.
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