Praying for the Next Open Door

Jackie Drew and her husband Rick work together in businesstry — their family business they see as ministry. If you’ve felt God leading you to something new, you’ll want to read Jackie’s story. With a comfortable job and house, Jackie shares what happened when they began praying for the next open door. 

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It was the fall of 2015, and I had just finished my 2 year commitment of co-leading a local mom’s group.  I loved serving other mommas, and I was really enjoying being a full time stay at home mom to our three kids.  Though it was a sweet time, I also felt like God was growing my heart for something else.

My husband Rick was working at a local oil and gas company.  When we first married in 2002, he had spent those beginning years getting his Masters in Finance, his CPA, and his CFA Charter, and he had been in business roles ever since.  

Rick had worked his way to the top of the ladder, and found it was pretty empty up there.  Having a certain amount of money saved in the bank and great bonus checks were nice, but they did not provide the security he hoped for.  He longed to do something more impactful, where he could truly make a difference.

During this season of unrest, we knew that God wanted us to do something different, but honestly, we had no idea what that was.  

I started praying a very bold prayer: “Lord, please open doors widely or close them loudly.”

I didn’t know what God’s will was for us, but I prayed it would be so evident, we could confidently walk through the right doors.

Praying for the Next Open Door

Early in 2016, Rick started to create what we now call, our Surrender™ Crosses.  They are handcrafted wooden crosses, made of reclaimed wood, and they have removable nails, so you can physically pierce your burdens to the cross.  He created the first one for a gift for our pastor, and then gradually word began to spread.

For months, Rick would work at his day job, and then come home and work until the wee hours of the morning in the garage making Surrender™ Crosses for our friends and family.  During this time, I saw a real passion growing in him as God was revealing to him a bigger purpose.  What’s so interesting is that Rick had never worked with wood before, and yet God was equipping and encouraging him as he continued to build the crosses.

While I loved seeing this newfound passion in Rick, and I was also excited to see a side income emerging, I knew that we could not keep up the pace.

I continued to boldly pray that God would open those doors widely or shut the doors loudly.

On Tuesday, May 3, 2016, about 6 months after I started this prayer, I called Rick one morning, and asked, “What would it take for you to just quit your job, and us do this full time?”  I have a type A personality and love to have things planned, so this was actually a pretty crazy question and very unlike me.

Rick chuckled and told me he had JUST been running numbers to see if it was even possible for us do that.

That evening, when he came home from work, I could sense something was different.  He sat down at the dinner table, and I knew.

I looked at Rick and said, “You lost your job today, didn’t you?”  He looked up at me, shook his head yes, and I began to laugh.  God had answered my prayer in a VERY unexpected way.

He had closed the doors to his old job, and He opened the doors to our new business, RAD JOY.

Rick says that at the moment I laughed, he knew that RAD JOY was God’s will.  That was not my normal type of response, and he could sense the Holy Spirit working through me.  

We started RAD JOY that night, and at that time, the only idea we had was a Surrender™ Cross.  Friends and family members had doubts. I’m sure many thought we were crazy and I remember people advising us, “You can’t really have a company with just one product.”  

And yet, that is where God was leading us, so we went forward in obedience. When God says go, we go…even when things seem uncertain and even when we don’t have all the answers. I think back to Moses leading the Israelites and how God parted the waters once Moses started walking through it.  That’s what faith is – the belief and assurance of things UNSEEN!

It wasn’t easy, and in fact, it was outright terrifying.  To live financially month by month was hard, but we also had to learn to “surrender” many other things.  We had a big family fallout (that had never happened before), Rick got incredibly sick and ended up in ICU, I battled anxiety, and the list continued.  BUT, God was faithful, and He provided!

In May of this year, we will celebrate three years of owning our businesstry (business + ministry), RAD JOY.  Our mission is to create beautiful and purpose-filled products that help others radically deepen their faith and joyfully share it with others.

God continually planted seeds allowing us to harvest new ideas. Now, in addition to Surrender™ Crosses, we sell RAD Boxes (to help you organize your quiet time materials), prayer cards (for young children, teens, adults, and married couples), and we just launched our new annual prayer guide, Daily Joy™.  

To be honest, we still have a lot of uncertainty — we know not what our future holds, but we take great comfort in knowing WHO is holding it!

I pray for each person as you read this. May you be encouraged to trust God to take that next step forward. No matter how scary it is, may He give you courage to boldly go where He is leading.

Lord, please open the doors widely or shut them loudly.

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Jackie Drew and her husband, Rick, have three wonderful children, Javed, Charley, and Riley.  They live in Colleyville, Texas, and work full time for RAD JOY.  Their passion is to provide practical ways to help others surrender their lives to Christ!

Go here to see Rad Joy’s beautiful Surrender Crosses™,  perfect for the Lent and Easter season. And follow Jackie and Rick on Instagram in their adventure of businesstry with God.