Open Doors

Opportunity is only a possibility if you pursue it, not just talk about it.

Life can be frustrating to say the least. 

 

Sometimes, we all try to do too much and the result is something less than desirable.  The reason being, I personally believe, is that we are trying to pursue opportunities or open doors in our life and make the most of them. This got me to thinking of when in my life; I have witnessed some open doors:

* Just the other day I was outside a customer's house, doing an outside pest control service, when I noticed something I have done on occasion.  The father of the family was watching his two young daughters while trying to field a work related conference call.  And apparently in his haste, to get his energy filled children in the house, he left the passenger rear door of his SUV wide open.  So, I shut it. .  That open door reminded me that sometimes we can try to do too much.

* In the past, I had a nasty habit of not completely shutting the doors on my one car.  The end result was I killed my battery way too often.  You think I would have learned, but during that season of my life I just kept not closing it tight enough and the dome light would stay on all night.  Those open doors just seemed to lead to exasperation.

* Once, many years ago, I high fived my second oldest daughter.  The problem with that was she was at the top of our stairs that lead directly to a cement landing, when the incident occurred.  Much to my dismay, she lost her balance and toppled down the stairs with me chasing after her, just out of my reach.  However, when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she kicked the door open and did not hit the concrete slab, which lay at the bottom of the steps.  That open door taught me that there is a time and place for everything.

* On another occasion, with my youngest daughter, I was driving while she was in the back seat of my car when the door flew open.  She had not shut it tight and I yelled her name and abruptly stopped the car and shut the door.  Fortunately, she was a wearing seat belt.  That open door taught me that you better buckle your seat belt for whatever life may have in store. 

* Then, there was a time about a year or so ago, when I was at someone’s house that had just heard some life altering news.  One of the visitors, who had come before I had arrived, left one of their doors open, so I shut it.  That open door reminded me that life can just be overwhelming sometimes.

* Here in Pennsylvania, there is a particular phenomenon at a certain convenience store called Wa Wa.  This marvel is the act of people holding the door open for one another as they enter the store. And get this, the patrons even seem to enjoy the act as well. Many years ago, Wa Wa made holding doors open, one of their core values. And it really seems to have caught on with their happy customers.  This open door policy makes you feel glad you came.  

This is just my opinion, but I think that God always leaves the door open. First off, He does so for all who want to come in and accept his offer of eternal life.  This is best depicted by the classic painting of Jesus doing one better and pursuing us.  In the picture, Jesus is outside knocking on the door of our hearts so He that can come inside.

Secondly, for those who are His followers, God opens the right doors at the right time.  However this can be frustrating, because many times these doors don’t leave us feeling any better about ourselves.  However, I think a lot of times, the doors God opens for us are the ones better suited for our needs, but don’t always leave us with a warm fuzzy feeling. 

With that being said, I would rather live with that uneasy feeling and trust that my navigator, God, will get me to where I need to be, when I need to be there. I’ll just have to buckle up and enjoy the ride best I can. 

The best open door needs to be my heart to God’s purpose for my life.

Swavel