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.
