We have all been there. You see a certain person or group of people approaching your front door and you instantly revert to “ninja, lock all the doors, turn off the lights, close the blinds” mode. Sometimes you just don’t want to open the door. You just want to stay locked inside and not bother with the people inching closer to your home. 

Have you ever had those days when you feel like you literally couldn’t go on much longer? It is sort of like your bed is your best friend and it’s the only one that understands you so you cannot leave it because it would just be mean. I have. Direction is a funny thing. Sometimes we do not know which way to go, but faith will lead us down the right path. 

I have been there. There were times I didn’t feel like leaving the house nor did I want to talk to anyone about it. Sometimes it was even hard to pray or read the Word. It was while I was serving the second helping of hors d’oeuvres at my extravagant pity party, a little knock came on my heart’s door. I chose to ignore it. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself to talk to people. The knocking persisted and grew louder. Finally, annoyed and feeble, I crawled over and slowly and cracked the door open. I was soon greeted by multiple guests. One by one they entered.

The first to address me was someone named Lesson. They barged through the door and stayed awhile. As they propped their feet up on my coffee table, they told me they were there to teach me things, difficult things that would take time and patience. There would be things that would leave me feeling hurt and confused. I tried to direct them out like an unwanted solicitor, but instead, they declared if I let them stay, I would be stronger and will have learned some things I needed to know. Reluctantly I let them stay. 

The second houseguest that knocked on the door of my heart was Compassion. I was somewhat confused because I had met with them before. I felt as though I was a pretty compassionate individual already. Why did I need to see this one again? This one explained to me it is in tough and trying times in my life, I would need them more than ever. I opened the door and let them take a seat. I soon began to learn that compassion settles in a lot slower to the when Lesson is still hanging around.

Directly behind compassion stood mercy. I slammed the door and bolted it tightly but a consistent tapping soon followed. Reluctantly I ushered them in and immediately knew that they were somehow related to my first two visitors. This guest told me that they were one of the most important ones I would allow into my life. You see, mercy is described as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. All of these visitors were initially uninvited but closely related. Soon all of the houseguests took their seats and began to rearrange my life.

They started to invite more people to the party. I was overwhelmed and underprepared. My heart quickly crowded with all sorts of company of all demeanors including, forgiveness, loneliness, trust, confusion and many others. They stayed a while- all of them. A few left and came back, some overstayed their welcome, and some even chose to move in permanently.

Some guests come uninvited but if you open the door and allow them to stay awhile, you will be better because of it. Jesus is always knocking on the doors of our hearts and He is bringing some important guests with Him. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…” Revelation 3:20

There was one particular one I opened the door for that that I clung to the most. This guest was Love. It helped me fight a lot of hard battles and always will. “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13. When I wanted to hate, love chose to take over. When I wanted to shut people out, Love propped open the door and shared a coffee them. Time after time, Love did and still does conquer all.

One of the things I love most about my husband is his thoughtfulness. He opens just about every door I walk through. In the spiritual, however, we cannot always depend on someone to do it all for us. I think we get really caught up in wanting God to open and close doors in obvious ways in our lives that we forget to sit and wait for the knocking and then answer. God is a gentleman and will always open the right doors in the right time but perhaps what you are needing is on the other side of the door you are too afraid to walk toward. Sometimes God does things in an instant, other times He leads you to it and makes you do the work. If the door of your heart has been locked tightly, perhaps it is time you answer those knockings. Good things happen outside our comfort zones. You will be amazed at what you will learn and how much you will truly grow when you let the doors swing open.

Rachel Skirvin is a lover of travel, nachos and the gospel. She is a graduate of Urshan College and will most likely always call it Gateway. She just recently married her best friend and together they are serving at the Pentecostals of Cooper City in South Florida.