Sat on the porch today and did some pondering while I watched the plethora of birds. Penelope was on squirrel duty in her play pen. The sky was heavily overcast but had a layer of wisps of smokey gray clouds floating fast across the sky, so thin I could see through them. I wondered if Father Sky had lit a cigar and made the thin clouds from his smoke. I always love to stare at overcast skies and see how many colors I can find in the clouds.

Today there were clouds of smokey grays, dull whites and an occasional cloud with purple, blue, and turquoise hues. The sun burst through for a short time and I could briefly see the winter blue sky canvas and feel the warmth on my face. The cloud cover hid the afternoon’s sunset but Mother Nature managed to brush stroke one thin line of peachy pink watercolors along the horizon before the clouds covered the pageant of sunset. I know Father Sky had his hands full trying to pull the waning gibbous moon and twinkling stars from their cloud covers to pin them high on the black velvety night canopy.

Heard a country song today on the radio that made me ponder how the modern world has fast forwarded our lives. The refrain says, “If every nightstand had a Bible, every front porch had a swing, if every backyard had a garden, every front door had a screen, well, maybe this crazy world would straighten up and slow on down, if every town had a Mamaw’s house.”

Mamaws’ houses are such magical places. I had a Mama Doris’ house and a Big Ma’s house, special places in my childhood where I felt loved and safe and petted. One had a front porch swing and one did not. Shelled peas on one porch, never sat out on the other’s porch, she didn’t either. One had a screen door, one did not. But they were both loving Christian women and left me many, many happy memories. I do think we need to put a few more Bibles on the world’s nightstands and it wouldn’t hurt to put some Bibles back in the schools, either.

The imagery of screen doors — I love a screen door, reminders of when life transpired at a much slower pace. We knew all our neighbors and the screen door was always open and unlocked for a hollered, “Door’s open, come on in.” Had mine open today and yesterday. Growing up here, my family never locked the screen door but now I lock the screen door before I even take the leash off Penelope. A screen door lets nature’s sounds and scenes in the house but keep the bugs and birds out. Lets God’s beautiful sunlight stream in the house, too.

I think some of us communicate with God through a screen door. We see each other, listen to each other, but we just don’t have enough faith to open the door to our hearts, inviting God to cross the threshold permanently into our lives. We have to open the door of our hearts to let him be a dedicated part of our daily lives. We have to trust enough in his grace to unlock the screen door, to welcome him and his goodness into our lives.

We walk through many doors in our lifetime. We have to make a decision when we face a new door. Some we enter, some we pass, some are wide, some are narrow, all with choices that determine the way our lives play out. Our destiny is determined by which doors we choose. God gives us opportunities with each new door. We need to have courage and faith in God to walk through the correct door.

Jesus is always at our door waiting to come in but we have to unlock the door and open the door from the inside.

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” — Helen Keller and Alexander Graham Bell