The Doorway

Some doorways are easier to walk through than others. I’ve had some doorways in my lifetime that have been just plain hard to go through, but none that I dreaded more than the doorway into first grade.

I was a very timid child; other than my brother and sister, kids were beyond intimidating to me. I don’t know what I thought they’d do to me, but I had no desire to find out. When my parents visited family friends that had children, I cowered in the living room with the adults. When we attended family reunions at the park, no matter how much I might have wanted to play on the playground equipment, I sat at the picnic tables with the grown-ups where I felt safe. Not necessarily happy – but safe. The walls that I had put up around myself kept me locked inside of a make believe – but real prison.

The day that I had been dreading for months, was going to be here in less than a week. On Monday, the school bus would stop at the end of our lane and I was expected to get on it. I was terrified of what I had imagined would be there in that classroom. I tried to convince my parents that I would do anything they asked if I could just stay home. I clung to my pillow each night as it collected my anguished tears. For the first time in my life, my parents couldn’t fix my insecurities. They said it was a law; I had to go to school.

The school year passed quickly- something I would have never anticipated. By Halloween I knew the name of every kid in my class and even liked most of them. I had gained a best friend – something I had never had before. We hung out together at recess and participated in kickball, jacks, and dodgeball with the rest of our classmates. When I looked back to the beginning of the school year I couldn’t believe I had been so afraid to walk through that door. A lot changed inside of me in those months between September and May. I no longer felt completely trapped inside the confining walls of shyness. It had been a door I never would have wished for, but one that greatly benefited me, none the less.

At the end of our lives, we will all have another door we must walk through. The name plate beside this door will say “Death.” It sounds frightening, but it doesn’t have to be. 1 Corinthians 15:54 tells us that Christ gave up His own life for our sake, and then He rose from the dead. Death has been swallowed up in victory! When we know Christ, we can step across the threshold with confidence and joyful anticipation. The minute we take that last step on earth and step across the threshold into the heavenly realm He welcomes us into His glory. In the words of Max Lucado, “With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth.”

Until next time – keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.

I