When One Door Closes Another One Opens

Until recently I was one of those people who lived in the land of the"what if." What if I went to a different school? What if I chose to go to college rather than beauty school? What if I moved to Los Angeles in my 20's. What if that friendship didn't end? I always thought about the what if's. I constantly second guessed my choices. What if?, what if?, what if? STOP! Just stop. This thinking had to stop. Not every moment was like this but I had a hard time living in the here and now.

A few of days ago, I had an aha moment. Bear with me but I'm going to get a bit religious on you. I thought to myself, Lori, what if you ask Jesus to be with you all day. Not just when you pray or meditate or when your at church, but all day long. How would it go? I had to be present and really mindful of everything I was doing, similar to showing an out of town guest the sites. When I was unsure of something, I would simply ask Jesus for guidance and sure enough, I would be guided. The other day I was driving through Presidio National Park and the person in front of me was going driving really slow. My immediate response was to honk my horn or to drive around the car and give the driver a look. You know what I'm talking about. My friend Debbie mentioned a breathing prayer for situations like this. Before you react you breath, simple enough. I took a deep breath, and then I took another, and I paused. I still wanted to give a little toot but I refrained when I noticed the car had out of town license plates. I imagined Jesus sitting next to me in the passenger seat so I asked for some help. I heard a voice inside my head say, they are from out of town and enjoying the view, why don't you? It was hard but I listened and you know what? I looked around and sure enough I saw what they saw, there was beauty all around me. The trees, the views of the water, the landscape...pure beauty. That's when I felt a shift. Instead of being in a rush and thinking about what I needed to get done, I chose to be in the present moment enjoying the journey. It's quite addictive once you start. Every night I examine my day and say a list of things I am grateful for. After I invited Jesus to spend the day with me, my list was so much longer than it usually is. It was amazing. I also noticed the things that I can do differently. For the first time in my life, I am fully present to witness all of Gods gifts.

How does this pertain to when one door closes another one opens? I was always looking behind at the closed door, trying to rewrite history. I had one foot in the crack of the past door and at the same time, one hand frantically trying to push and pull the handle of the future door. No wonder my vision of how I wanted to live was all over the place and my mission was unclear. I recently watched a documentary on Warren Buffet called Becoming Warren. I love documentaries. He's obviously a brilliant man but my take away of his success is his ability to FOCUS. Warren Buffet reads for about 5-6 hours a day. Granted his family life suffered but there was something about that word that got me thinking to stay present. I thought about the amount of time and energy it took to become the person he is today... one moment at a time. I am not trying to compare myself to a billionaire but we are all human beings. If I can stay focused, be present and be guided by Jesus how can I not have the best life imaginable. My mind can be open to things that I never thought possible.I don't think much about the past anymore because I don't want to miss anything in the present. When a door presents itself, I will be ready.

I am so grateful for my for my past and would not have changed a thing. I am also so grateful for a second chance at life. I hope this little read has opened a door in your heart to find your own bits of joy. As for Jesus and I, we are developing a lovely friendship.