My Macgyver

Today after my 8 hour day of classes; I said I wanted to do something fun on my only night off. I was referring to the fact that Thursdays are the only day I am unable to take my gram to chemo because of my class schedule. I wanted to fill my night with something other than watching someone I love suffer. After class, (still searching for a way to enjoy my weekly me time) I went to Walmart to get my gram an electric throw to help combat the severe chills she gets after her infusions. As I was in the make-up aisle getting eye liner for myself (eye liner and foundation are now the only make-up I manage to smear on in the mornings), I saw a display for bubble bath.  And in an instant, I envisioned myself soaking in a hot bubble bath with hot chocolate and a book. A perfect way to spend my evening and enjoy much needed “me time”. Before I could indulge in a bubble bath, I needed to wash my sink full of coffee mugs, take out my trash, and re-wash the laundry I had put in my washer Tuesday morning. Thankfully, I was looking for a specific pair of jeans or I may have went another week before I realized I had wet clothes in the washer. After successfully washing the same load of clothes for the second time, I started back up my basement stairs only to find my door locked. That’s right friends. I was locked in my basement for the second time this year. (The first time it happened, I thought bad luck. This time I was thinking: ghost at 845.) Knowing my phone was on my kitchen counter, I began looking for anything I could to get my door open. I tried to unlock the deadbolt with a paint scrapper for 30 minutes and then I sat on my stairs in defeat. Instead of panicking, I said, “well Lord, I wanted me time tonight. And you definitely provided a situation where I could be all alone.”  I sat on my steps for a few minutes and then I heard my neighbors through the wall. My attempts to rip my door off of the hinges with a paint scrapper had apparently made a lot of noise. They unlocked their basement door to investigate and I explained my current situation. Realizing I now had a phone to use, I began thinking of who I would call. My normal call would be to my dad since he has a spare key but he was on grandma duty tonight. As I was thinking of who to call, my neighbor said, “I can just take the door off.” Was he serious? Take my door off? I thought that only happened in movies when the people trapped inside had seconds to escape before a bomb went off and their only resources were a gum wrapper and a toothpick. My claim that God has a giant movie cinema in heaven that randomly plays parts of my life for entertainment (especially the scenes where I run around like I am in a rat wheel before I ask God for help) was confirmed when my neighbor pulled my door off the hinges within seconds. He didn’t have a gum wrapper or a toothpick but he still got the same reaction from me as he stood holding my door in his hands and I walked safely into my apartment.

I will have to wait until I get to heaven to ask God if He constantly entertains His eternal family with my mishaps but I don’t have to wait for Him to constantly remind me of how much He loves me.  Tonight He showed me (again) that when I trust Him; He will do more than entertain my heart. He will open doors. And I am not talking about my neighbor who physically opened my door tonight; I am referring to God himself opening doors in my life when I feel like I am trapped inside my own life.  From the moment I found myself back in the ring with cancer, I have been trusting God to provide for me. And during the first week of a long fight; I have found myself defeated many, many times. But unlike my past two attempts; I didn’t fall down. Well, I didn’t fall beyond me knees. I turned to God. And last night during a pep talk from my coach; I told Him, “I give myself away; my life is in your hands.”  It was that simple friends. Instantly, my heart felt better, my mind shut off, my fears disappeared, and doors were opened. God can open any door that He wants. We are never trapped when we are in Him. Even when we shut doors and try to keep God locked up; He will bust it down and wow us with His love opposed to his lock picking skills.  Do you feel trapped inside your own life? Are you sitting on your basement stairs desperate for a door to open? If you are, do you believe that God is greater than all things? Do you know that greater things await us? Do you know that God equals victory every time?  Or are you standing with a paint scrapper trying to open a door you somehow locked yourself? God yearns for us to lay every burden, every ounce of pain, every dead end at the foot of the cross. And when we do friends not only will He open doors and provide ways we never imagined; He will open our hearts to truly experience His love. When you stand in adoration of the opened doors in your life; remember that His skills aren’t limited to toothpicks and gum wrappers. His skills save lives. His skills mend broken hearts. His skills perform miracles.

His skill’s have turned me from a girl who spent most of her time in a rat wheel (wait until you get to heaven; you will see the big screen) to a girl who walks through the mazes of my life confident that my maze doesn’t contain a single dead end. Tonight my maze contains a bubble bath, a good book, and hot chocolate thanks to the skills of my locksmith (an my neighbor).

Verse to remember: Lamentations 3:22-24 22Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 Say to myself, “the Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.”