If you live long enough, you will encounter timeless pearls of wisdom. In our youth, we often overlook these insights, casting them aside like shells on the shore. However, as we age and encounter them again, we come to appreciate their true value.
One notable quote is attributed to Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. He said, “When one door closes, another one opens.” However, there’s more to this quote: “But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us.”
Most of us are only familiar with the first part of this saying.
How many times have we found ourselves trapped in a room full of closed doors, unaware that one door is slightly open in the corner? We often give up searching and instead wait for a guide to show us the way out. If only we had continued to look for that unlocked door a little longer, we might have freed ourselves much sooner.
Granny Rose was my father’s mother. She passed away when I was fourteen, but I remember her vividly. One day, when I was still young enough to sit on her lap, I recall her rocking me in the old chair in her living room. I had spent the night with her while my parents were out of town.
During the night, I experienced a severe asthma attack, and when she heard me coughing, she took me to the rocking chair to comfort me.
Fear always engulfed me during those asthma episodes. Back then, the only remedy available was VapoRub, along with large doses of prayers. I would repeatedly say the children’s prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Even though I couldn’t sleep during those torturous hours, I was determined that if I died, my prayers would open the door to heaven for me.
“Honey, you are going to be alright. Let’s just get to the light of day,” Granny Rose assured me as she rocked back and forth, singing her favorite hymn, “In the Garden.”
As I grew older, I heard stories of survival after hardship—stories of people who never gave up, like Granny Rose. Her husband and her two-year-old daughter died within a month during the flu epidemic of 1920. Yet she always found the courage to open new doors, raising her remaining four children with dignity and grace.
Rose Caraway Walker was the only musical member of our family. She played her old pump organ and sang hymns beautifully. Despite facing various hardships, she always found ways to enjoy life and share laughter with her friends.
Today, I observe people who do not look for an open door. Depression, grief, and aging can strip away their hope. They dwell in the past, struggling to navigate through the darkness of regret and shame. They may not realize that the only way out of darkness is through the determination to seek the light.
Did you know that you will age faster and experience more discomfort if you don’t exercise? The path to walk on is right outside your front door. Has the sofa become your room without a door?
Did you know that asking for help can alleviate depression? Or has the darkness of sadness made it difficult for you to see the happiness just beyond the door marked “Exit”?
Has loneliness kept you from friends because you don’t want to open the door to let them in?
When will we ever learn that the best way to find our way is to go to the garden and walk alone with God? He will guide us to the joy we seek.
As Granny Rose’s life was drawing to a close, she became very ill. Since her children lived in different states, they hired a nurse to care for her. One morning, the nurse entered Rose’s room and found her laying out her finest dress, hat, gloves, and pearls on the bed.
“Rose, what are you doing? It’s not Sunday!” the nurse exclaimed, noticing the array.
“I know, but I have somewhere special to go today,” Rose replied.
My grandmother put on her clothes while the nurse went into the kitchen. When the nurse returned, she found Rose lying peacefully on her bed. Rose had stepped through the final door into God’s garden, all dressed in her Sunday best.
A door is always open.
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Lynn Walker Gendusa began her writing career as a columnist for the LaGrange News. Today, her essays are featured regularly throughout Georgia and Tennessee. Her work also appears in Guidepost, USA Today, The Atlanta Journal, MSN.com, among others. Lynn has authored two books; the latest, “Southern Comfort,” was published in 2022. She can be reached at www.lynngendusa.com. For more of her inspirational stories, click here.
