When One Door Closes

God’s Protection and Answered Prayer Print Books vs. Ebooks

When One Door Closes

Our home helper Betsy and I have been cleaning closets and cabinets. Today I came across a journal entry I had written in late 1996, shortly after we sold our interior landscape business. What I wrote back then was a good reminder for me, and I hope it speaks to you also.

Here is an excerpt from that journal entry:

I’ve been to a Christian writers meeting listening to a program on journaling. I’ve been journal writing but I haven’t used my journal as a means of talking to God. Most of my talking to God seems to be thinking about things. Even if I don’t say a formal prayer, I’m seeking guidance. And I believe I’ve received guidance in my life.

Every time one door closes, another opens. Sometimes when life seems the darkest, I’ve found the greatest blessings. When I was molested in the retail store, it was a horrible experience. Yet it led to a change in my life–closing the store and going into the plantscape business.

Now I believe I was led to change course again. We were very fortunate –read blessed–to sell the company for the amount of money we got. I believe that was God saying we’re doing the right thing.

Even the stroke led to blessings. I’ve always wanted to write, but who knows if I would have ever had the courage to try. But the stroke brought me face-to-face with my own mortality. I realized that if I wanted to write “someday,” someday was here.

Even though I wrote this sixteen years ago, it’s still true. I had started writing my novel not long before this journal entry. Since then, I’ve published three novels and several short how-to ebooks. I love editing and helping authors publish their books. I plan on doing this for a long time to come.

Have you ever looked back in an old journal or read something you’ve written a decade or two earlier? How did you feel about it? Did you like what you’d said or have you changed your thoughts and beliefs since then?

photo credit: nicksarebi