No Matter How the Door Closes…

Monday Moment- Day One

I once heard the embarrassing story of someone who stepped into the hallway of his hotel room, still in his underwear, to pick up the morning paper. He was VERY surprised when the door to his room suddenly closed behind him! He had to walk to the front desk in his skivvies to get another key.

In recent weeks, I have witnessed other types of doors closing for several dear ones. The treasured door of married life closed for a friend whose precious spouse died of cancer. The comfortable door of the place called “home” closed for another loved one who moved to an assisted living space. The oppressive door of a stressful career closed for a neighbor who found a better position. As the doors have closed on their old lives, they now face new and unfamiliar lives on the other side.

At different times throughout life we all have had doors close behind us. Stages in maturity, phases of growth, and unexpected changes or challenges tell us we no longer belong in our current room and compel us to enter another- a new and unfamiliar room. Each closing door can come from a variety of circumstances…

There are happy times when we fondly take one last look around the room before gently closing the door behind us. We then step eagerly into a new vocation, a more suitable home, an exciting adventure, or a better way of living. Aware of what we are leaving behind, we linger for a moment… but our hearts are light as we anticipate our brighter future. We grasp the doorknob and pull the door shut, grateful for the memories but ready to let go and move into the future.

There are surprising times when we are like the person at the hotel- when we open the door just to take a peek, and suddenly find ourselves on the other side. When Jim and I first visited Hurricane, WV to see our daughter, we both agreed that the city “was nice enough, but we wouldn’t want to live here.” Soon we were making plans to relocate to Hurricane! When circumstances move more rapidly than expected, we barely have time to grasp the doorknob. We glance back with a hurried thanks and allow the door to shut.

Then… there are painful times when we are swiftly and harshly escorted out the door. We are given no time for looking back, no time to make plans for the future. The door slams shut with the death of a loved one, the end of a job or marriage, the destruction of a home or other catastrophe, or the loss of our good health. We are dumped on the other side of the door into a new life for which we have not prepared, severed from our old life without a moment to pause and reflect. Standing on the threshold of a strange new room, we wonder why our hand never even touched the doorknob.

Whatever circumstances may take us from our current room- happy, surprising, painful- we all end up in the same place. We land on the threshold of a different life, a new beginning, with an unfamiliar view. But the way the doors close behind us affects the way we view the life before us, doesn’t it?

How might we prevent our recent exit from hindering our new entrance? What might we do to take the best first step from the threshold? In what ways do God’s promises help us in these times? This week I will be sharing some thoughts about these closing doors and new beginnings.

Has a door closed behind you in recent times? I pray that you’ll find a blessing as you read this week.