Staying Open to Closed Doors
Genesis 17:15-22
God said to Abraham, “As for Sarah your wife… I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her.” Genesis 17:15-16
Imagine (or recall) a whole life of your partner leaving the toilet seat up even if you (or child) continuously falls in, or a whole life of having a roommate that won’t stop leaving the kitchen cabinet doors open after literally thousands of pleas to STOP THE MADNESS AND CLOSE THE CABINET DOORS, THE CAT IS GETTING THE DISHES HAIRY. At some point you will likely run out of hope that things can change. You may even begin to question if the “offending party” even loves you—if they did, wouldn’t they care about your comfort?
Now imagine one day the cabinet doors are miraculously closed, or the toilet seat is down… and it never happens again. Would you feel seen? Loved? In case of Abraham and Sarah, The Holy One sees their advanced age and blesses them with a geriatric pregnancy (which sounds harsh but is also the contemporary medical terminology for pregnancy after 35 years old. I’m only a messenger!), making good on promises for progeny that would rule nations.
Advent is a season of waiting, anticipation, and expectation. By this time in the scripture Abraham and Sarah have lived and waited through many seasons together—long enough to know the unglamorous ebbs and flows of spending a whole life with someone. It’s easy to become dismissive of hope for things to change after living a lifetime with them the way they are. They must have given up some hope in their heart for a child—yet by grace Sarah becomes a mother. A closed door opens.
In this season of hope and anticipation, what does it mean for us to anticipate (or expect) God’s love? Maybe it means responding to seemingly closed doors (or open cabinet doors) in faith, trusting the reality of love we can’t see rightly when we aren’t looking. We receive God’s love with every breath, every heartbeat, every bout of inspiration, in every act of kindness, compassion, or mercy, in simple expressions of love, peace, creativity, bravery, sacrifice, or beauty.
Perhaps to expect God’s Love in the world is to live with openness and readiness to receive love in unexpected ways, at unexpected times, and in humbling abundance.
Cortney Lemke
Director of Admissions
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