An Opener of Doors

I discovered a card one day in my nightstand over a year ago.  A card I had not read, (or possibly had never read), or seen in years.  It felt as if it had been dropped down from heaven.  An invisible nudge curiously prompted me that day to pull open the drawer and dig through its belongings.

September 5, 2007.  My 20th wedding anniversary.  It was a note from my husband Michael.  Because I had no remembrance of it and it was sealed as if it had never been opened, I felt that I was receiving encouragement from heavenly places.  As I read the card I heard him.  I felt him. “You can do this Babe!”

The words on this card were exactly what I needed to hear at that moment – and they continue to be.  I needed to hear encouragement from someone who knew exactly where my heart was tender during this point in my journey through the Midnight Hour.  Someone who recognized my hesitation.  Someone who saw that I was beginning to question myself.  Someone who had been my personal cheering section for more than half of my life.

We had always been two who created our own path together. We opened doors – but courage rises when surrounded by a loving travel companion.  A journey of solitude requires courage from unknown depths.  I was on a solitary journey.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path & leave a trail. Always do what you are afraid to do.  Be an opener of doors.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Michael’s words to me, “How amazing it is to look back and see the incredible trails that our journey has created as Christ leads us.  As I do look back, I realize also that I could not have, nor would have ventured out without your encouragement and quiet prompting.  For this I am thankful.”  Now it was my turn to receive that encouragement and quiet prompting. “My prayer is that these trails will become roads for our children as they grow.  That as they travel them, they too (as God directs) will venture off creating roads of their own. Thank you for helping remove the fear of the unknown.  Thank you for opening the door of my heart!”

I have kept this card near my chair where I write and read my Bible, or sometimes on top of my night stand, so that I can pick it up any time I need these words to whisper to me…”Go…Don’t be afraid…blaze a trail…do it for our children…be an example to them of courage. Be an opener of doors.”

Open doors where no one has gone before. Walk through them...with eyes straight ahead.