When God Shuts the Door
We have good intentions, but sometimes the door slams shut on our plans. Disappointment sets in, and we begin to wonder what we are doing wrong. Weren't we just trying to help?
Needles are not my thing, but this year I finally gathered the courage to give blood. The promotional video from OneBlood that was shown in the junior class meeting had inspired me to donate. So I made the appointment, ate healthy for the weekend, and sat in line. In nervous anticipation, I marked the question bubbles and got my vitals checked.
Then I found out that, since I had been out of the country on a missions trip to Guatemala, I couldn’t give blood until next year. Disappointed that I wasn't able to "share my power" as the OneBlood sticker said, I left the bus and walked back to my room.
After a few minutes of feeling like a failure, I realized how silly I was acting. There are many different things that I can do. I can open the door for someone who is carrying a package, share a smile, give a compliment, or surprise a friend with something special. Just because I couldn't do that one thing, that doesn't mean that I don't have other options for helping others.
This is just something simple, and you might think that I should have been happy not to be stuck with a needle. But this happens often in our lives: we try to do something simple, and sometimes we get shot down. Maybe you try to invite someone to eat with you or you try to help a friend out, and it just doesn’t go the way you planned.
Don’t give up. When God closes one door, He opens another. We just need to live our lives dedicated to Him every day. He will give us opportunities to serve Him; we just have to be available. God can do amazing things through a willing heart.
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