“She just sits by Monique and Frank’s closed bedroom
door and cries. It’s so sad!” Elise was
babysitting her niece, Olivia, and called with an update.
She must really have
been missing her parents because Olivia usually entertains herself. Watching the
one year old is wonderful exercise for she is rarely still. She roams throughout
the house, briefly plays with a toy or
two, climbs onto a chair, or pulls books off of shelves. Her parents are kept
busy childproofing their home by putting dangerous things out her reach, locking
cabinets, and closing doors to keep her from wandering around getting lost.
I wonder if my Heavenly
Father gets tired of childproofing my life? Keeping things that would poison me
out of my reach? Closing doors that might cause me to wander away from Him? I hope
not. I need those closed doors as much as I need open ones.
When I pray for
something, I usually add, “But just keep me in the center of Your will. If it’s
not supposed to happen, please close the door.” Then, when God closes the door,
I’m disappointed. “But God, I’ve thought about it a lot and I really think it’s
a good idea.” And He doesn’t budge. Oh, He always answers my prayers, but
sometimes the answer remains, “No.”
Once a little time has
passed, I realize how shortsighted or downright ridiculous my request was and I
am grateful for divine guidance, for fences and refusals and closed doors. Even
though I’ve been known to sit by the closed door and cry.
Ronny
may be reached at rmichel@rtcoline.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment