You need to get the door....

A closed door, literally or figuratively, is shutting something out, or closing something in.  There is a barrier between us and the inside world we are trying to attain, or we are preserving our privacy from external forces behind a solid object that protects and shields what we have.

Generally, the closed door is a symbol for something inaccessible, and as such, we all can immediately relate to it.  The closed door is an easy metaphor for the past failure, the lost opportunity, the ended relationship.  An open door, on the other hand, symbolizes invitation, potential, a new beginning.  It is a peek into another world, one which may be just opening up to us, and it holds the offer of future possibilities.

For most, the closed door represents what cannot be accomplished.  The open door represents what may yet be experienced.

The gospel of grace

I opened my facebook recently to see this charming little story at the top of my wall, shared by W, a close friend of my cousin, with whom I have become FB friends. W has two small children, and their antics often amuse and entertain me, but this particular story really touched my heart, because it so exemplified what the grace of God is all about. W writes,

If I only had the nerve....

The Wizard of Oz is filled with characters who believe they lack the very qualities they most value in life.  While the Tin Man bemoans his lack of a heart, he continually thinks of others and acts on those feelings.  The lion bewails his cowardly impulses, but he none the less barges ahead and faces his fears to protect his friends.  The scarecrow feels he is inadequate because of his lack of brains, and yet he thinks things through and comes up with plans time after time in order to prevail over the evil that is chasing them.  And Dorothy herself finally realizes how important her own home and family are to her, so much so that even in the beautiful and now perfect Land of Oz she dreams of going home again to Kansas.

Wishing you a new year feast....

It is New Year's Day today, and all over the world, people are waking up in various stages of joy and regret.  New Year's Day is day of promise, of dreams as yet unfulfilled but also uncrushed.  On this day, we can hope for a new start for ourselves or others, we can plan a new strategy, we can use it to begin or end something that  will enhance our lives.  We can make resolutions with a whole 365 days ahead in which to make them happen.

It is, in short, a day of celebrating the possibilities, and looking ahead to the future.  I am on board.