Today I read an inspirational quote by Flora Whittemore, “The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” I love this! We live life through opening and closing many doors each and every day – the doors to old friendships and new friendships; the doors to care for someone who needs our help; the doors to our houses; the doors to our places of employment, our church, the grocery store, our schools.
This is the season of graduations. Congratulations to all graduates! Graduation is a time of closing and opening doors, isn’t it? We close the door of our previous school for the last time, and open the door to a new school or job. We close the door to a life with familiar experiences, and open the door to an unknown future.
I remember when I graduated from High school, it was the greatest feeling to be free from having to study and take tests. I hated taking tests! I was glad to close that door! At that point in my life, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But I was sure about what I didn’t want to do – which was to study more! That lasted for a few months. Fortunately for me, I found a job working with professional people with college degrees, and they had a profound influence on me. I quickly came to appreciate how important school was for my future. One of my friends at work encouraged me and even helped me pay for my first course. I started taking more college courses, and eventually earned my degree. By the time I was in Graduate School at Andover Newton Theological School, I actually enjoyed being a student. I would have liked to remain a student for a longer time, but alas, I finally earned my Master of Divinity degree and had to graduate! Looking back, I really had no idea how many doors I would close and open after High school graduation. But I guess God did!
A few weeks ago in my sermon, I quoted these words from John Lennon’s song, Beautiful Boy: “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” I really appreciate Lennon’s words because they remind me that I need to pay attention to the daily things that happen to us – the people we meet, the decisions we make, the tears and smiles we encounter, the prayers we say, the doors we walk through. This is the life we are living, and yet we often need reminding of this because we get so busy that we miss out on it.
We close and open many doors through the choices we make. And they ultimately define our life! I believe that one of the important choices we make in life, is whether or not to have a relationship with God. Scripture encourages us to have faith, and offers us a way to connect to God each and every day through prayer. Matthew 7:7 tells us that when we pray it is like knocking on a door and God answers. If we are persistent, God always opens the door to us. This is an incredible blessing.
As we move through seasons of saying goodbye to the old and hello to the new I pray we will make careful choices, and that one of them will be opening the door to a closer relationship with God. May God guide us in our journey towards the good life God wants us to have, one door at a time!
Congratulations again, to all our Graduates!
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Reverend Linda C. Hey