Sunday, January 4, 2015

A New Year, A New Door, A Renewed Focus


You know how they say “When one door closes, another one opens?” Am I the only one who heard that and pictured a swinging door on the other side that automatically flung open? They really should have gone on to say that the open door doesn’t always happen immediately.

I closed the door on another season of life today. As we embark on a new year, on new beginnings and fresh starts…I find myself moving out of one of the best living situations I’ve had as a single adult to one that is temporary and not ideal. I know I’ll be moving again. Although necessary, I was kind of hoping another door would open immediately that would make this door stay open. It didn’t.

I have opened and closed more doors than I’d like to think about in the past year. Some of them were actually closed for me. Some of them I worked hard to close. Thankfully I’m learning to not pry them open and walk through them prematurely.

I’ve actually walked through a couple doors in my lifetime. I mean physically walked through them. One of these times was at a friend’s bridal shower. It was at this amazing house overlooking the ocean. I was walking from the kitchen to the outside terrace with a tray, talking to someone behind me while trying to walk forward and walked right through their very expensive screen door!

I learned a valuable lesson that day – it’s really hard to move forward while looking backward. Especially through a closed door!

So as I walk through the door of a new year, I feel that God is telling me to focus. Focus on where I’m going, not where I’ve been. Focus on health goals. Focus on spiritual maturity. Focus on relationships. Focus on the things that really matter and not the things or voices that try to distract me.

“…I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward...” Philippians 3:13-14