The Pink Door

Did you have one of these in 2021? No…I don’t mean a literal pink door. Let me unpack this a bit. This pink door ended up in my home in 2021. Don’t ask!! I hated it -still do. For me, it represents things that I had to deal with (or live with) even though I would have preferred not to. The unwelcomed guests in my life. Those things that were allowed into our spaces to refine our character.

We call them problems, challenges, or ‘crosses’. The things we couldn’t pray, worry or reason away. They were in no hurry to disappear. In reality, my pink door was someone else’s doing. Did you have one of these?

I discovered that most of us experience dual seasons in our lives. We may have a great career but health challenges. Awesome kids but a stressful job. Great spouse, questionable outlaws ( sorry, I meant in-laws). Terrific family, horrible finances. You have the ‘boo’ of your dreams but still waiting for that promised child. Your finances are intact but you sometimes wonder if you actually gave birth to that person who calls you mom [or dad]. All your dreams realized but a marriage/romance in disrepair. At the heights of your spiritual and emotional growth, but all hell is breaking loose in your family. Peace in my home then comes a pink door. Do you get the idea?

Job said it best –” Shall we receive good from God and not trouble? [Job2:10] I found out that we don’t necessarily get to choose our trials but we do get to choose our response. Even the things that were ‘meant for our harm’, work together for our good when we allow God to use them.

One day I stood in front of the pink door and snapped a few pictures. A few of my friends loved the pink background! It popped – brought a boldness and life to my selfies! Who would have imagined? The pink door served a purpose. A good one too. It added pizzazz and color to a dull ‘portrait’. The lemon into lemonade saga.

Maybe you haven’t tasted the lemonade yet. You are still navigating some muddy waters. The questions are way more than the answers. There’s a bitter taste in your mouth after swallowing some painful truths. You had not bargained for this when you mapped out your life’s vision board. At times you may feel like you’re becoming unhinged. Every now and then, trying to recapture a glimpse of the you that’s slowly slipping away. You walked in the trenches with some deep rooted issues you had to expose to bring healing. You gave God your heart and you held His hand – still you struggle with uncertainties. When you couldn’t find the strength to hold His hands, you asked Him to hold you. He did.

Can I invite you into that place where Paul found himself? That place where he framed these words – “In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret [of facing life] …. I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens  and  empowers me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace. “[Phil. 4:12-13 AMP]

A place of sweet surrender – sometimes both in pain and in peace. A place of ‘be it unto me according to your will’. A place where the refining of my character takes precedence over my comfort. Where the desire to please God outweighs my need to be right. Where there is a wanting – NO – a hunger, to be the ‘me’ that heaven envisioned when my Father kissed me with the breath of life.

It’s not always an easy place to reach. Hence the phrase- ‘I have learned’. Written in the present perfect to indicate that the action started in the past and continues to be true in the present. It’s a journey. These things like pink doors are like the refiners fire. They come to purify, build and reinforce those flawed broken places. They cause a shift in our thinking and our priorities. The intent is that we would be strengthened in the inner man. Not easily shaken. Better than we were last year. And having done all things – we remain standing!

The dual seasons are real. Lemons can be turned into lemonade. Pink doors can add sparkle and vigor to the pages of one’s life. If we respond with trust, the pain will lead to purpose.

MAY