Scrubbing floors in the spacious homes of well-to-do families in England in the 1920’s, a young parlor maid dreamed of becoming a missionary to China. She was from a working-class family, and her education ended when she began working as a housemaid at the age of 14. For years she had heard and read about the work of the famous British missionary Hudson Taylor and his organization, the China Inland Mission. One day, she boldly went to their office in London and applied to become a missionary.
Though skeptical because of her low level of education, the CIM allowed her to join a three-month preparatory class for consideration as a missionary trainee. But that door soon slammed shut when the mission determined her to be unsuitable for missionary service. They felt her age (28) and lack of education would hinder her from learning the difficult Chinese language.
This disappointment was painful, but God had a divine purpose in this closed door. Gladys did not allow herself to become bitter over this rejection but instead became even more determined to go to China. She worked harder than ever and saved every shilling she could to purchase her own passage to China.
Someone who knew of her interest in China, gave her a prayer letter from an elderly missionary living in Yangchen, a mountainous area just south of present-day Beijing. The missionary was a widow, Jeannie Lawson, and she was asking for a missionary assistant to come to China to help her. Gladys wrote to her and offered herself in service. Jeannie Lawson welcomed her to come as soon as possible. Without that closed door from the China Inland Mission, this door would never have opened.
When she had saved enough money to book passage to China, she began a treacherous journey that included trains, boat, bus and mule and required crossing frozen territory where the Russians and Chinese were at war. When she finally arrived in Yangchen in 1930, she joined the elderly missionary, and they together embarked on a novel plan to spread the Gospel. They opened a small Inn that catered to mule drivers who carried goods across the mountains to remote villages. They offered hearty meals and told Bible stories as “entertainment.” The mule drivers took those stories and repeated them all across the mountains. Gladys quickly learned the local dialect, despite the predictions made about her by the Missions Board in London. A year after Gladys arrived, missionary Jeannie Lawson died. Gladys continued the missions work and began to take in many orphans.
In the early days of World War II, the Japanese bombed the town of Yancheng. Many townspeople died, and most others fled wherever they could. Gladys undertook a perilous two-week trek with nearly one hundred orphans over mountains and the fast-moving Yellow River, headed toward the promised safety of a city called Xian. After a series of miracles, the bedraggled and hungry group arrived safely. Gladys was hailed as a hero by the Chinese for achieving this near-impossible feat. She went on to serve the Lord in China for many years, later moving to Taiwan where she started an orphanage. She died there in 1970 at the age of 68.
The painful closed door that Gladys initially experienced was necessary for her to find God’s specific path for her life. It allowed a new door to open which brought the promise of going to China in God’s perfect timing and placing her in the center of His perfect will.
If you are struggling with disappointment over a closed door, consider the following insights we can glean from missionary Gladys Aylward’s story.
- Don’t allow discouragement to take root in your heart and steal the dream God has given you. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 NIV
- Reject all temptation to become bitter at the “door closers.” Remember - they have helped move you toward God’s open door! Bitterness will destroy you and block every door. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; Hebrews 12:15 ESV
- Be intentional in praising God during this season. His plan is far better than the door that closed. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
- Do everything within your power to prepare yourself to walk through God’s open door. Joshua said to the people, ‘Make yourselves ready to serve the Lord as His holy people. Tomorrow, the Lord will do great miracles among you.’ Joshua 3:5 Easy English Bible
God has a specific path for you to take, and it will lead you to the “open door” He planned for you before the foundations of the earth. But to find it, you will have to fight off the enemies of discouragement, fear, bitterness, disappointment, and hopelessness. Commit yourself to trusting God with all your heart and He will be faithful to direct your path and do great miracles to get you there!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV
To read more about the remarkable life of Gladys Aylward, consider these biographies: A London Sparrow: The Inspiring and True Story of Gladys Aylward by Phyllis Thompson Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime by Janet & Geoff Benge (great for young readers)