Infinity And Beyond

Isaiah 55:9 -- "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

During our high school production of The Sound of Music, one thing stuck with me more than anything else. There is a line in the play when Maria is talking to her Mother Superior and she is taught that "When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window."

THAT's the one that really stuck. It goes beyond learning to pray/think outside the box. Isaiah 55:9 puts a finer point to this thought by reminding us that God is so much bigger and better than anything we could ever imagine. In fact, more than just praying outside the box, we really should be seeking out a BIGGER box all together.

How often is our focus so narrow that we can't see beyond a closed door?

What seems like ages ago, my husband went into work just like all the other mornings in our marriage, only he came home shortly after to let me know he'd lost his job. We were devastated. Everything seemed to be going so well with his career. At the time, he was working IT for a HUGE national transportation company. It really looked like he had landed his dream job. But five years in, his department manager died from a heart attack and the department for which he'd been working was completely dissolved. At the time, we were in a bit of a panic because we were just about to sign on the dotted line for our first house. Well, with no job, we couldn't take the leap and buy the home. What seemed to be falling into place so perfectly was suddenly falling into pieces all around us.

Looking back on that moment that seemed so horrible, I can honestly say that we are grateful Steven lost that job. He's been with his current employer for twelve years and they treat him very, very well. We have since moved across the Saint Johns river and Steven's commute to work is now fifteen minutes when it used to take close to an hour. He gets to sleep later [which he loves] and he gets home earlier. I'm within walking distance of one of my most precious friends and twenty minutes away from my favorite beach. If you had told me all of this back when Steven was sent home packing from what we had assumed was the perfect job for him - I just would not have believed you.

Sometimes the things we pray are so very, very small. We don't cling to the HUGE power of our Creator. God is so much BIGGER than anything we could come up with - so when we pray, we should not be afraid to pray big. It's not just a window He opens when a door in our life path is closed. Sometimes, God takes out an entire wall! Who needs a door then?