We have all heard the saying that when one door closes, another one opens.  I posted a quote on the 4 Pillar Living Facebook page from Alexander Graham Bell that said “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.”  Our lives are filled with doors of opportunity at which we are left with the daunting of decision of stepping through or passing by.  When we reach those challenging moments in life where a door closes, as Alexander Graham Bell mentioned, people often times stair at the closed door and don’t look forward to the new ones.  A example of this is going through a layoff.  I have been there before.  For me, it was right after my second child was born and on my wife’s birthday of all days.  That was a difficult time, but I knew that at that moment, I had the opportunity before me to do something better.  I could sit and sulk or bust my tail to open the next door, which I did.

These doors opportunities start when we are kids as well.  As a parent, I want to help my children be able to crash through those doors and make the most of every opportunity that’s presented to them.  We have taught all three of them that they have to set their mind to what it is they want in life and then take the steps to achieve that goal.  They also know that through each door of opportunity that comes their way, is another opportunity to do great things and further glorify God in how they tackle those opportunities.  As adults, I want my children to always be able to understand that they can have whatever it is in life they set their mind to do, if God wills it.  If they continue to seek Him, He will show the doors that are meant to be opened in life.

I bring my children up as an example of how doors of opportunity continue to come our way.  I have a son with passions to be a chef, another that plays competitive travel baseball with desires to play professionally, and my daughter plays competitive travel softball with desires to play professionally as well.  Each of them has before them several doors they can take as kids and teenagers that can lead them toward their goals or lead them away toward other areas of life, good or bad.  This is the same throughout all of life.  We can either crash through the doors of opportunity or sit back and let fears, doubts, and temptations take us through alternating doors.

Now, you may think, I have heard a lot of this before.  This is true.  These same things I am talking about are lessons many of us have received from our parents or others we have looked up to in life.  The problem that may of us have, however is that when we come to these doors of opportunity, we either shy away, or when we open them, we step through very timidly.  2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”  These are our golden opportunities to stare that fear down and come crashing through those doors.  Don’t open them with fear, even if it is totally new and unknown territory.  I have said that few times in this blog.  Crash through those doors.  Have confidence in yourself that you can make the most of the opportunity ahead.  People who excel in life take the challenge that is before them.  Learn from each door and always press forward through the next one.