There's Little difference between a hallway and a door

​A lot of my struggles have happened in the hallway of life.

They've happened as I've roamed up and down that hallway, looking and wondering what door God was going to open. They've happened as I've sat on a floor in that same hallway - sulking and sad and impatient - dear God, when on earth are you going to open one of these doors. And I suppose there are times I've stormed back out of one or two of those doors, into the hallway, angry, because God mistakenly opened the wrong door.

As I'm reading that this morning, and writing, it occurs to me all of those struggles come about because I have some expectations around the doors in life that I want opened.

When my buddy Solomon and I were running in the woods all day Saturday, more than once we commented about the peace. We talked about how easy it is, in spite of the challenge of the experience, to be out on the trails, away from the noise.

The hallway seemed easier in the woods.

This morning, though, I'm wondering if I misunderstood those woods and that peace. Maybe that peace wasn't because I was suddenly less aware of the doors - maybe the peace was because I'd actually walked through a door.

Registering for that race was very last minute. In many ways, doing so was inexplicable. Registering didn't look or feel like a door at the time. But I sure charged through the process like I'd just picked door number three on Let's Make a Deal, convinced there was a new Chevy Silverado behind it.

I experienced a lot out on those trails Saturday. Saturday trail experiences are now forever memories. Memories that did and will continue to shape me.

In sharing the story of that race, I had people say our trail experience inspired them. In addition, folks reacted to the story in ways that also inspired me.

I can't help but ponder this morning - does God even have hallways?

Maybe hallways are OUR creation - spaces we create to wait until we see just the right doors open in our lives. And maybe because in our minds we're always waiting for the perfect door, we get good at believing we're in the hallway killing time when we've actually walked through an open door.

A door God was happy to see us pass through.

Too often we associate doors with rooms. We dream of God opening the perfect door to the perfect room where we'll settle in and forever live life in peace and contentment.

Maybe God doesn't see it that way. Maybe God sees life as one big hallway. There are no rooms. Every door is simply an opening to the next hallway and to the next door. Behind every one of which God is waiting on us.

Maybe we're never to be sad or mad or impatient in that hallway, we're simply made to keep moving - walking or running or crawling -moving through that next door.

We move through those hallways praising God the whole way, because we know in his eyes there is very little difference - if any - between the hallway and the door.

It's all life. And it's always up to us whether we walk through a door or not.

I've missed that point for a large part of my life.

I've missed it while I've been waiting in a hallway for God to open the perfect door.

It's Monday. No waiting for doors to open. It's the perfect day to choose to walk down the hallway and through the door.

And then through the next one....