A Slammed Door

There’s the cliché metaphor about God opening and closing doors.  I’m not entirely sure how theologically accurate it is to think that God opens doors (provides opportunities for us by smoothing out the way to get to those opportunities) and closes doors (God actively prevents us from doing something).  There are some situations where I think God does actively work like this but there are other situations where we may use the metaphor as a way to cover up other factors or forces that are actually working.

Whatever theological limitations there are on this metaphor it has been helpful to make sense of a difficult situation.

God closed a door on an opportunity I was pursuing. 

When I tried to enter the door, God slammed that door right in my face and sternly yelled from the other side of the door something to the effect of “Melissa, what did you think you were doing?  Was I not clear that this was not where I wanted you to go???  Why are you so unhappy with what I have given you right now??  Stay where you are!”  A huge door slammed directly in my face.  A loud slamming door with God on the other side of that door leaving me alone in a pitch-dark hallway with absolutely nowhere to go and no path leading me to whatever was next.  This hallway was scary and terrifying and confusing.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  I had begged God to be with me through all this because I didn’t know how to do it alone.  I didn’t even have a clue where or how to pick up and begin again once the door closed.  All I could focus on was that closed door and the harsh loud sound it made when it slammed shut. 

But after a while the sound of the door slamming faded.  Or maybe I had imagined the sound all along.  Yes, a door definitely closed, but maybe it was closed in a different manner than I had first imagined.  Maybe it was more like God closing the door while gently saying, “No, Melissa, not right now.  Come back later.”  Or maybe God softly closed the door because God knows it just wasn’t a door I should be going through even though that’s what I thought I wanted.  Or maybe God opened that door so I could look in and see it but then God is trying to tell me, “Melissa, you see how wonderful and beautiful that is?  Well, I’ve got something planned for you that is even better.”

As I was able to think about the door closing in a different way it eased the pain but not completely.  When you see so much beauty and possibility behind a door, it is impossible to forget it.  You cannot erase the thoughts of what might have been.

When people use the metaphor about God closing doors, a closed door almost always means God is opening another door for you, and I think that’s true.

However, I don’t yet see the open door and it really stinks right now (to put it nicely).  But what I didn’t realize when I was focusing on a slammed door is that there are at least nightlights in the hallway.  And I’m not alone in the hallway.  I’ve got the best Guide in the universe walking with me who will help me knock on doors.  And there are some really amazing cheerleaders cheering me on and supporting me in the hallway.