A door slammed in the face of trouble is a welcome sound.  But closing the door on what I cherish is quite a different matter.  I faced this challenge as my sister Jackie and I spent this past weekend in Indiana closing on the sale of our childhood home.

Since our mother passed away a few years ago and our father’s recent illness, we knew this day would come.  We were grateful the home sold in a short period of time.  However, the sale announced the end of an era and triggered our need to gain closure.

Many miles away, our sister Gail and our brother Michael took care of our dad.  As Jackie and I sorted and packed our family’s history we felt the gravity of this task.  My parents were the home’s original owners and for over sixty years our family was its only occupants.

Like many homes, our doorway served as the portal to childhood adventures, teenage exploration, and adult realizations.  And when life outside the walls of our home became tough, the welcome and wisdom of our parents gave us a soft place to land.  This was a difficult duty.  If you’ve bid farewell to someplace you hold dear you may appreciate our struggle.

Our aunts and uncles rallied to help us and their presence brought great comfort.  My best friend since childhood, Kathy joined us too and her support was invaluable. When we’re overwhelmed God often sends His ambassadors to prod us along His path.  Sometimes He sends a person (like my aunts, uncles and friend) but He always offers His presence.

Embracing necessary endings can open us to the next door God has in mind.  For me, that always requires His strength.  As I closed the door on my childhood residence it weighed an emotional ton.  However, as I trusted God’s timing and choices for our lives I sensed His grace in the door’s hinges.

Grace eases a burden.  Jackie and I knew the place we’d always called “home” would soon become someone else’s dwelling.  But our sorrowful reality reminded me that grace glides us forward.  Otherwise, we can remain stuck in the past instead of recalling how it prepares us for our future.

If you’re required to release what you cherish too, here’s some good news:  there is pain in letting go; but there is power in letting God in.  He comes into our hearts to settle any issues and He satisfies our souls with a promise of something more.  I’m still receiving His grace for my most recent release and I’m praying you will receive it for yours too.  It always offers us a new hope in the heart and an unspeakable joy in the soul.

 “Have faith in Him in all circumstances, dear people. Open up your heart to Him; the True God shelters us in His arms. ” – Psalm 62:8 (Voice)