Doorways

Blessed are those who listen to me,
   watching daily at my doors,
   waiting at my doorway.
For those who find me find life
   and receive favor from the LORD.  -- Proverbs 8:34-35

"Waiting at my doorway..."  This phrase brings to my mind two life images. The first one is the homeless people who slept in the doorway of the church in Kansas City, KS.  The church council of the church was quite disturbed by the homeless people's choice of sleeping location, and discussed all ways to discourage this behavior because they felt it was a poor reflection on the church to have "that kind of people hanging out" there at night.  The other image is when I was going through an intensely depressing time in college and I found my way down to the church in Cheney.  The door was locked and I sat and cried in the church doorway.

Waiting at the doorway, in both cases, carries the powerful reminder that God is present to us even when doors are locked.  It also works in reverse.  Whenever we start thinking of our life as being locked and stuck God is still there, less locked away from us than we can even  realize at that moment.  When we wait in the doorways and listen for God I do think that God hears us and the favor of God is present, even when we may not feel it.