Closed Doors

As I write, I am on the beautiful campus of Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America, to settle one of my daughters in for her first year of college. Memories of my own first few days as a student are vivid. As a high school senior, my heart was set on attending Georgia Tech. The application form had to be requested and submitted by mail. I carefully placed the completed form in my backpack, securely behind the front cover of a large textbook, and took it to school for my school counselor to review.

When I removed it, I froze. An ugly brown water stain marked every page. Every other item in my bag was dry. There was no explanation for it.

I sat on the bench outside my classroom and cried, praying for a miracle. A soft voice I had not heard before whispered, “It’s not where you need to be.” Dismissing the voice, I spoke to the school counselor, and she promised to call Georgia Tech and request a new application. The deadline came and went, and the reality that it may have been God’s voice I had dismissed took root in my heart. So, I applied to Union College, where my twin sister planned to attend. The week before classes were to start, we packed the car full and prepared for the long drive from Florida to Nebraska. Before leaving, we stopped by my aunt’s house to bid them goodbye, and I went to her kitchen for water. Suddenly tripping over nothing, I grabbed the top of the refrigerator to steady myself and pulled down a dusty envelope with my name and a Georgia Tech return address. Through the endless hours of that long drive, I pondered the envelope and realized the school counselor had “accidentally” sent the application to my aunt’s address. Discovering it just as we were starting out for Nebraska was God’s way of reminding me He was leading my journey to Union College—the place where I did need to be.

Three decades later, as we prepared for my daughter’s journey, a now well-known voice whispered, “Union is where she needs to be, and your journey paved a path for her.” Sometimes God closes doors to protect us and, at other times, to lead us to something better. And sometimes that better provides an opportunity to partner with Him as He carves new doorways for those who will follow behind us.

Melissa Martinez