THE HALLWAY

I'm sure we've all choked on the well-intended advice: "When God closes one door, He opens another..."


Sometimes we have to wait a long time between locked doors, the hallway.


The hallway is where some of us lose faith and hope. We forget why He's making us wait, or why He even closed the door.


I've pounded my clenched fists on those doors and demanded He let me out of this hell, this frightening darkness, only to discover that He will, but in His time.


He makes us wait it out to think things over. Then, when we're ready to accept His plan unconditionally and without questions, He opens the door, and we're free to walk.


I'll tell you the truth, the last time the door opened, and I realized what He chose for this phase of my life, I discovered that maybe I should have stayed in the hallway. Maybe I wasn't ready for what He wanted from me.


Many are called, few are chosen. I responded to His call without counting the costs, and picked up the cross and followed.


What He chose for me requires personal daily sacrifice, giving of myself, and being isolated from a vibrant world I had once been a part of. A few times I tried running back into the hallway, but of course, the door was closed and locked.


I remain in this circumstance the Lord has arranged for me and my 93-year-old mother. I thank Him each day for bringing my heart to the place of humility and compassion, a place I otherwise never would have known had it not been for the hallway.