First Baptist Church of Herndon

Door shut? Check the window.

Linda Soller | Jun 22, 2015

Yes, this is the beginning of year four of the “Drop In On-line” blog, but who is counting? Milestones in life sit out there taunting us, saying come and get me. Then when we get there it can be amazing, or ho hum. This milestone for me is somewhere in between. Honestly, aren’t most of our milestones somewhere in between? How does that saying go? When one door closes God opens a window. Three years of writing my thoughts for you have come to an end and here I am stepping calmly into year four. I was trying the other day to think of what door closed when my window to this blog opened. It was the summer of 2012 and my father, the same man I wrote about last week, was very ill. My family, as I knew it, was about to radically change. In hind sight it seems like an unlikely time to take on such a challenge, and yet that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t have any goal in mind, just take what I did with the Drop In class and share it in a blog. I didn’t even read blogs. I certainly didn’t really write anything for others to read except some poetry. Yet during that difficult time I really felt compelled to start this blog. Now here we are three years later, and still together. Thanks for sticking with me.

Our family celebrated the high school graduation of my niece. We had a small but festive dinner, and took a quick look through her yearbook. As she pointed out her best friends, her future college roommate, and where she showed up in the photos we all remembered our high school years, our yearbooks. It seemed like yesterday. I remember wondering how I would survive without my friends. When I went to college you were really much more isolated. I didn’t have a phone to carry around, a computer to email on, or the ability to see them on a screen. I had to write letters, on paper. Well, I did have a typewriter; it wasn’t the Stone Age after all. My niece will have a different experience, but it is a big milestone.  The door to her childhood years is closing and the window to becoming an adult is opened wide.

Another young woman went off to college unsure if it was where she wanted to be. Her roommate was absolutely sure she was in the right place. Together they built a friendship that has lasted through college, grad school, seminary, two weddings and beyond. This week that young woman will be ordained. I know her service to God will be amazing because already she has been such a blessing to those around her. Who would have thought the once unsure young woman would become that person who helps guide others in life? God knew when He called her, and now she is being set free to fly through her open window.

The day had finally come. One last time to turn off the light and shut the office door. There would be no busy schedule, no meetings, and no one to report to. He left the building with mixed emotions. He was really tired of working so retirement seemed like the perfect solution. Now it also seemed scary. That night in his prayers he asked God to help him find the open window, because all he could do was hear the door slamming behind him. The next day the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. He looked out the window and saw a bright blue sky, and about that time he felt a breeze. His window had been open all night, he just needed to notice.

What change are you facing? What milestone have your reached? Door shut? Check the window.

Have a great week! :o)  Linda