Doors

Hello world,

I recently had a pretty humbling run-in with doors in my life; one that made me reflect upon my life up until this point. Here's what happened:

A soccer company offered three spots to my girl's soccer team to go to receive soccer training and go to Brazil for the World Cup finals. I was so pumped for my girls! They've been working hard for the past year+ and really deserve the chance. Three got selected, and I was told they would need a female chaperone. Who better than their coach? A series of events followed that are pretty contradictory to each other.

First, they told me I needed to go. Then, they said I couldn't. A week later, they said I could go again. So, I sent them my passport info and started to get my hopes up. I asked what the dates were for the Brazil trip so that I could be prepared to go. Alas, the dates were the same exact days as my mandatory meeting. I then had to ask my boss if I could skip the meeting and go. He said yes!!! However, the next day was depressing because I didn't get chosen. Someone else did.

DOORS!!!!! 

"What the heck?" - the only thing that popped into my mind after that dream-crusher 

This unfortunate experience that kept pulling my emotions left and right made me think about doors, life, chances, and opportunities. How do they all relate? Do they even make sense? Half of the time, I don't understand doors. And, where does God fit into all of this? 

My conclusion: Life is full of doors. We walk down one big hall and are faced with door after door varying in shape, size, and color until we reach the end of the hall at some unknown time and fall asleep. Oh, the choices! Oh, the options! It's really quite exciting. We see doors, but do we open them? Sometimes, we see them and walk right by unfazed. Other times we rush in without thinking twice as to what my really be lying behind the slab of wood. Simply walking through the hall and never opening any door would be a shame. I'd imagine that your life would be filled with a swirling cloud of what-ifs. At the end, you'd wish you could start over and take some chances. 

In the past, I used to walk down the hall and see doors but be too afraid to open them. Now? I at least want to give them a shot. With discernment, mind you, but also with excitement and a spirit of adventure. What if I had not even tried to go with my girls? I would've kicked myself in the butt for a while, that's for sure. Obviously, it was not a part of the plan- of God's plan for my life. And, you know what? I'm OK with that. Maybe it was one of those moments where it was MY plan that I was trying to bring about, NOT his. I can sit here and rest inside of my mind knowing that my God is in control of my every step. That is a good feeling. Whatever may come my way, even so, it is well with my soul.