Have you ever walked through an open door that was supposed to be locked? I remember this one time I was closing down the kitchen and the door was accidentally left open for too long. Someone walked in to get food and every eye turned to him. He started walking very cautiously all of a sudden, questioning if he should be there or not. Most everything was already taken off the lines by the time he made his way into the dining area. This guy had paid full price to eat and had very little to chose from. A few of the cooks saw this and instead of throwing away the food they had left like they had every right to, they waited so that the guy could get something to eat. The thing was though, was that he knew when the place closed and decided to test his luck anyway. This time around he was able to get food, but I've seen people get turned away empty handed plenty of times.
I feel like I've kind of been in that scenario in life recently. Doors that should have been locked, opened all of a sudden. There's that saying about open doors leading to the right path and all that, but sometimes I feel like those locked doors have something to offer as well. Like that kid, I walked into this particular door knowing that it was supposed to be closed and decided to test my luck anyways. Once I got inside, I got what I came for...but not all of it. When I entered the door it was wonderful! It was everything I had dreamed it would be and more. Why hadn't I tried to open this door before? But it hit me all of a sudden that I only got a taste of everything it had to offer and it left me wanting more. I've been trying to re-enter that door ever since it was left open to see if I can experience more of what I've been missing, but I keep finding that it's always closing time. I keep getting a taste of the real thing, but I keep walking away discouraged. I'm left to wonder if my decision to open a door that should have been locked was the right thing to do? I paid a price to get in, but was it worth it? I knew walking in that I might not get everything I wanted, but I was so hungry for it that it honestly didn't matter.
I think I'm learning the hard way that doors open and close for a reason. No one ever told me about the doors that accidentally got left open. Over the years I've seen the dining doors get left open many times. And every time it's a different outcome. Sometimes a student will walk away empty handed, left wondering why he even entered the door at all, and other times they walk away with whatever we have left to offer. But the look they have on their faces is always the same. Why did I pay full price for this? I never feel bad for the students with that look on their face, because they could have easily entered the dining center 10 minutes prior when it was actually open and gotten to experience everything. So why should I feel discouraged when I walk into a door I know was supposed to be closed and walk away with less than I desired? I knew what I was walking into.
I'm learning that entering those accidental doors is basically the same thing as breaking into a locked one. The doors in life that are open are open for a reason. I didn't walk away completely empty handed when I walked into the wrong door. I've learned some valuable lessons every time I've entered those doors. But it's occurred to me that when I open the right doors, I don't struggle as much. Things just kind of fall into place. It's interesting to me how that works. But I think it speaks to how much I'm always trying to control what happens in my own life instead of sitting back for a minute and waiting for the closed sign to flicker "open".
