A door's primary purpose is to provide security by controlling access to the doorway. Doors are made to create opportunities for you to come and go. Websters definition of a "Door is a hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrance to a building, room, or vehicle." A door can also represent people, places and things in our lives that come and go. This can be in friendships, relationships, jobs, or just about any area of your life, although all doors aren't created equally. When a builder chooses a door for a home they have to decide what door belongs on the inside and which to use on the outside. Most exterior doors are made of metal while an interior door would more than likely be some form of wood. Just like the the doors that are put on our homes, the doors we open for people, places, and things to occupy our spaces all play an important part in our lives. Some of them are only for certain times in our lives and others are there for the long haul. It is important to know when to leave a door open and when to close it. The power of closing the door is vital as you begin to grow and mature in life.
When there is a fire, closing the door cuts off the oxygen to feed the fire. This is the same in every area of our lives. Do you hold on to friendships because you have been friends since you were kids? Do you hang on to a relationship because you have spent so much time in it? Do you stay at the same job with no growth, because you're afraid to start something new? Do you stay in the same place mentally, physically, or spiritually because you don't see yourself any other way? If you have answered yes to any of the above questions then it is important for you to understand the "Power of closing the door."
When you close a door it separates spaces. This separation can mean a world between silence and noise, peace and frustration, work and procrastination. When I need to hear from God I usually have to get in a space that is closed off from everything and everyone. I close off from distractions when I feel overwhelmed, frustrated or restless. In the world we live in everything is easily available to us via social media and the internet, so understanding the power of closing the door was important for my life.
This year took me on a roller coaster of emotions. I was good in one moment and struggling the next. I was eating right and exercising in one moment and binging on junk food the next. I was full on my sermons and starving for the word of God in the next. It caused me to examine a deeper part of myself I was afraid to acknowledge. I had to take a deeper look at me. Was I as healed as I thought? If I was then why did certain things trigger me? I heard a pastor preach on how can you heal if you keep returning to the crime scene? He said we have to deal with it and then close the door in our thoughts and actions. A lot of times we keep allowing the same situations in and out of our lives because we keep the access point open. I realized I was going through the same things over and over just a different day, month or year because the door was open. No matter how far I would go some way some how I would be right back at the center of it all. I realized my triggers happened when I returned to the scene of the crime.
In 2021 I changed my phone number a total of three times. Lol I know that's a lot...right? One of those reasons was because I was running from a situation I didn't want to face. I didn't want to have the hard conversation. I left the door open each time I didn't say the things that needed to be said. I didn't want to be mean, I was more concerned with how other people would feel verses my own peace. Leaving the door opened caused me to have anxiety attacks, lose weight, gain weight, at times go into a dark space mentally. I gained my power back the day I said no more! The day I closed the door and said yes to me and no to anything that did not add to my life. I cut off the oxygen that was feeding all the little fires in my life. I quit returning to the crime scene. I am in no way saying closing the door was easy but it was worth it. Gaining my peace of mind and self-worth were at the top of the list of things I gained from closing doors this year. I said goodbye to everything and everyone in my life that created worry, fear, and inconsistency to spring up within me. I denied access to anyone who made me second guess their loyalty to my life. Choosing you can be hard but It must be done in order for you to truly live.
Closing the door is taking your power back. It's saying yes to yourself. It's saying goodbye to old habits. It's saying goodbye to wasted time. When I closed the doors in my life from one-sided friendships, toxic relationships, outgrown situations, It allowed me to be truly free. In 2022, I can walk in knowing that I never have to visit the scene of the crime again because the door has been closed. I charge you with the same, get your power back by truly understanding the "power of closing the door."