I love doors.
One of my favorite stores to go shopping is Talbots. When the girls were young, they always called it “The Red Doors.” Since the store has red doors at the entry it is easy to see why they called it that. They knew it was one of my favorite stores so they knew when we went in, it was going to take some time to look around. If I found something I liked and wanted to try it on, it would be even longer. They never seemed to mind. Our girls have always been my shopping buddies.
I must admit I love doors. The entryway to someone’s home or place of business always fascinates me. The prettier the door and the surroundings to the entryway make it more appealing to enter. I can’t wait to see what is inside. What adventure might await. What amazing decorating idea might I find once I enter. If it is a cute little boutique, there is always a fascination with what they will have to offer.
I love doors.
Behind every door something awaits.
I look back over my life and feel like there have been different doors. Some of those doors have been open and easy to access while other doors, no matter how hard I tried, would not open.
The first closed door that made a significant impact on my life came the summer I wanted to be a counselor at the camp I had attended as a child. I even worked there in the kitchen for two summers in high school. They knew me, so I was sure that the summer I applied to be a counselor, they would accept me. They did not. I was heartbroken, even crushed. The reason: I wasn’t mature enough. That was a huge blow to my ego. I think I brushed it off and thought they did not know what they were talking about rather than consider why they thought I was immature. As I look back on that time in my life, they were right. I was immature.
Closed doors can be valuable lessons, if we seek to learn the lesson it is meant to teach.
The next closed door that impacted me was when I was ready to get pregnant and God said, “No, the timing is not right.” In God’s timing, we did get pregnant not just once but three times, and now have three beautiful daughters. See the full story regarding this door.
Sometimes, closed doors are meant to teach us patience and faith in God.
The next closed door was when our children were young. I had left my career as a nurse and was a stay- at-home-Mom. Finances were tight and Dave thought it might be best for me to get a part time nursing job. I had a Master’s degree and also had some good experience, but I could not get a job no matter how hard I tried. God did know what was best for me and my family. I am happy this door was closed by God since I did not want to work and knew that somehow, we would make it. Since I did not get a job at that time, I could continue to focus my energy on being a stay-at-home-mom. We also homeschooled our children, so a job would have made that even more challenging. God took care of our financial needs during those years.
Sometimes, closed doors show us that God knows what’s best for us.
The next significant door was an open door. I did get a job doing some home health care as a nurse. The girls were older and more independent. This open door led to another open door at another home care company after we moved across the state.
Open doors lead us to other open doors.
There are more doors in my story. I am sure there are many doors in your story too. There are different lessons we all need to learn. Sometimes the door is stuck, and we must learn persistence. Sometimes, we are trying to open doors in the wrong order. Sometimes, the entryway is pretty and the door opens easily, but we were never meant to enter. It is in these moments we need the counsel of wise people and we need to listen to those wise people.
I wish I would have taken the time to evaluate this closed door and to understand why I lacked maturity. I can see now that I was. Evaluating and taking pause may change the course of our lives. It may save us from future heartache.
Doors. Have you evaluated the doors in your life? Do you ask the Lord which doors to open? Do you ask wise friends what doors to try? Do you see the doors in your pathway as God’s direction in your life?
