One of the first house projects Tim and I worked on together as a married couple was replacing the front door. To say it didn’t go as expected is an understatement.

When we bought the new door, the salesperson asked if we wanted to have it installed. My first thought was: “That would be great.”
Tim answered : “Nope, we can do it.”
After we left, I asked: “Are you sure we can do it ourselves? I’ve never even seen a door installed.”
Tim waved his hand in the as if he was shooing away a bug. “I ‘ve replaced many a door. We’ll hang it as soon as we get back home.”
“But there’s supposed to be some severe storms this evening. I heard the forecast on the radio on my way home from work.”
“We’ll be done way before then.” Tim smiled and shrugged. “I don’t think it’ll take us long at all.” If you’re thinking that those words would come back to haunts us, you would be correct.
As soon as we pulled into the driveway, I noticed dark clouds in the northern sky. This would have been looking toward Norris Lake. When storms came from that direction, they were usually intense. I pointed them out to Tim. “Why can’t we do this tomorrow?” He tried to reassure me: “It’ll be fine.”
Are you scratching your head and wondering why I didn’t check the radar on my weather app? Smart phones didn’t exist in 1987. I know this sounds so primitive now, but the only way to get weather reports then was on the radio and/or TV. I think there may have been a number you could call on a land line for weather updates.
Tim grabbed a couple of tools and some nails. Then we took off the old front door. We tried to sit the new door into the doorway, but it didn’t quite fit. I knew it wouldn’t be that easy It never is. For the record, Tim had measured the doorway and we had the right size. The problem was the old part of the house was concrete block, so there was no give or easy fix.
As Tim struggled with the doorway, I watched the northern sky. “The clouds are getting dark,” I warned. “I know,” he answered. We tried hanging the door again and it still didn’t fit. It became a cycle of him working on the open doorway and us trying to hang the door. During this time, I watched the storm clouds gather and grow darker with each passing second. That’s when I began my bombardments of: “Are you any closer to getting it done?” Bless his heart, he would always calmly answer “I’m working on it.” Soon the wind picked up and we began to hear the rumbles of distant thunder. “It’s getting worse and we have no protection out here,” I warned. You see, we were totally vulnerable to the weather since the front porch was still uncovered at that time. There wasn’t even much of an overhang over the front door. “I know that,” he answered.
We tried to hang it again to no avail. That’s when it went from bad to worse. The wind was blowing with some strength and we could see lightning bolts dancing across the sky. The clouds were now ominous and black. Then I let my nerves get the best of me. “Something’s got to be done. We can’t let the rain, hail, and wind-blown stuff get into the house. Plus, lightning likes open spaces. Can’t we just put the one back up for now and hang the new one tomorrow?” To his credit, Tim calmly answered: “The old one can’t be hung because I’ve made too many changes. We have to get this one up.” After a few more minutes, Tim was ready to try again. I prayed that it would work and it did. I stepped inside while Tim nailed the door in place. About the time he shut the new door behind him, the storm hit full force. Even though it was close, I knew the Lord had protected us from it.
I had a couple of thoughts on this:
“Keep the heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)
Without a door, it would have been difficult for us to keep the damaging effect of storm out of our house. In the same manner, we are to guard our hearts and make sure we take in only what is Godly and not what is worldly.
“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.” Genesis 7:16 (KJV)
Once the Lord shut the door to the ark, there was no opening it back up. So, when God shuts a door to something in your life, don’t try to open it for He is keeping you safe from a storm.
“We need a new door,” Tim told me when we moved into the house where we now live. I thought: “Oh no, here we go again.” Fortunately, I was wrong. At the home improvement store, a salesperson came up to us. The first words out of Tim’s mouth were: “Can we have it installed?”
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.