Azeena came over the other day to visit the cats. She sat and worked while the cats went outside and came to check on her. Right before she left, Jean-Claude decided to go outside again, but went out the front door. A little while later, Koko goes to the back door and I hear scratching and sure enough, Jean-Claude has come home through the back door although he went out the front.
Often times in life there are multiple routes and methods to get to the same place. And the old adage does say it’s the journey and not the destination.
And yet, one of the lessons that it’s extremely difficult to know is when do you persist in pursuing something and when do you let it go. When do you try to climb in through a window or another door and when do you finally figure out to either shut that door yourself or that it has been welded shut. Often it comes down to figuring out what we want or think we need versus what God has planned for us.
I go back to words that my pastor preached is “No man can close a door that God has opened and no man can open a door that God has closed.” Even if you don’t believe in God, the universe and nature always has a way to balance itself.
Many times in my life there have been things that I have wanted but they have been pushed only just slightly out of reach. This is the most frustrating feeling. I can see it, it’s there and I can ALMOST touch it. This is when I have learned to fall by my faith and just shut the door. For example, there has been this company that everyone says I should work for, it’s in my field and has many of the qualities that I would want. And yet, after three attempts of going for three different jobs including having several interviews,I have not been successful. There is a part of me that says “Why not me?” but I have to realize that it is a door that is shut for a good reason. Even when I want to apply again. Unlike Jean-Claude, I don’t have a back door to sneak in through.
And yet, when I need to be persistent, I find that sometimes the door just opens just enough to let me get to the next door and then the next door until finally I’m at the end of the hall and at the final door only to find that it is already open!
If you are wondering whether to pursue a path or go another direction – pause and listen – you’ll know which way to go.
Cats & All That ™ 