by Lonnette Harrell

Created on: March 12, 2008

"When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long, and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."

I was reading through random blogs this evening, and I found this quote. It's by Alexander Graham Bell. For many years, I have heard that quote about one door closing and another one opening. But the best additional quote I've ever heard, about this subject, was by Pastor Jentezen Franklin, who said, "But it's hell in the hallway!"

And hell in the hallway it is! I have been through this door scenario many times in my life, and it is excruciating. Every time I get all "comfy cozy" in a work or family situation, those darn doors start closing. And maybe it's just me, but the older I get, the less I seem to welcome change. The world is changing so fast, and lately I've lost my way. I always like to say that I can't even get stamps out of the machine anymore. It asks me questions...can you believe it? We are talking to way too many machines these days! A friend of mine told me that her mom pulled up to McDonald's to place an order. She heard a voice say, "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?" She politely gave her order, and waited. But the voice once again asked for her order. She explained that she had just given her order, only to look out her window, to see that she had mistakenly been talking to the trashcan, instead of the speaker, which was a little farther ahead. That sounds like something I'd do these days!

But getting back to the topic of doors closing and opening, it seems that Alexander forgot to tell us that this doesn't often happen simultaneously. There's usually a definite pause between the closing and the opening. Sometimes a long pause. And we find ourselves in that dreadful hallway I mentioned earlier-wondering where to go next.It seems like God delights in stirring my nest. And He always waits until I am comfortably settled in, and then he gives me the boot. (I'm sure you've heard that's the way mama eagles do it also. They will literally push the eaglets out of the nest, in order to teach them to fly. And just when the poor little things think they are falling without a parachute, the mother eagle swoops down and catches them. After a few times of this, they start flying on their own.)

Maybe that's what God has in mind with all this door closing-door opening shenanigans. It seems that some of us aren't meant to just do one thing our whole lifetime. (Probably not many people are.)

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