The Open Door Of Hope

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Rev 3.8

Everything settled. The wind stopped. She lay on the bed, her thoughts in as much disarray as the room she was in. As she slowly opened her eyes, the memory of the storm resurfaced. Rising up, making her way through the overturned things tossed violently around her, she made her way to the door, turned the knob and opened it.

From black and white to color, I sat in awe on my living room floor watching the scene from  "The Wizard of Oz". Life for Dorothy suddenly became full of possibilities. Since I was a little girl I have watched that movie a hundred times, at least. My favorite part has never changed, Dorothy opening the door to a whole new world of endless color, adventure, possibilities and opportunities.

Most doors are familiar to us. We pass through the same ones every day. The doors in our home, work, all the places we go on a regular basis are familiar. We close them to keep us in. We close them to keep us out. Usually when we open them there is no surprise. With so much familiarity do I recognize a door of opportunity when it is opened up before me?

So many I have not walked through. I have looked in but never stepped inside. I might fail. I might lose. I might misinterpret something. The fact is by not walking through it I am doing all of that and more. I remain the same hidden behind the door of my impossibility. I have no color and no contrast.

Jesus is the door in John 10 by which we enter to be saved. Entering that door will give us access to the door of heaven. I cannot imagine the first time I walk through that door. All the color of this earth I am sure will seem pale and muted.

Maybe in the back seat of my mind I am believing the end of that story, that it is all a dream after all, that hope on this earth belongs to others and not for me. That somehow I have said no too many times. The fact is, I am learning that no hope on this earth is in itself my fulfillment. True hope cannot be found in earth's successes or in my estimation of life's situations. When God opens a door and you walk through it the only purpose is to learn something else about how small I am and how big He is. That makes every door He offers a challenge and an opportunity to grow.

Dorothy certainly had many strange, dangerous and discouraging plights along her way, along with an enemy and a few entertaining companions. I have goodness and mercy that follow me all the days of my life as said in the 23rd Psalm. It may have been a dream for her, but it is a reality for the Christian.

Recently a door has been opened to me. A world of writers who are sharing their stories, losses and gains. I have gone from knowing one writer to now having access to hundreds of them. No longer do I feel alone, but now I also feel the intimidation and challenge even greater. Now I appreciate what I have close by even more than before, for what I have been learning is now being validated, plus so much more. How much can one appreciate someone? I seems to keep growing.  Dorothy went through the door but in the end she loved the place she left even more. She realized that hope took her to the next level. Hope in Christ is our foundation. It is what we build upon. It can hold all the weight we put upon it and will never crumble.