By Kelly Wahlquist

Untitled by Martin Pysko via Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain

I remember watching The Sound of Music on television each Easter. Yep, that was back in the pre-historic days before Netflix. The line that always stuck with me was when Maria says, “Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” This message of hope is one I often recall whenever I encounter an opportunity lost – a door closing. It is a message that always proved to be true; where the Lord closed a door, somewhere He opened a window.

Then one day, another door closed and I headed back to my “Fraulein Maria words of comfort,” and I waited, and I waited… and it seemed as though either God didn’t know someone had shut the door, or He had forgotten how to open the window. As time passed, the lack of spotting an opening brought with it some discomfort, then some questioning, then some anxiety. Why weren’t Julie Andrews’ words of wisdom coming through for me?

Turns out, it wasn’t the words of Julie Andrews I needed to rely on, it was the Word of God, so I went there, and I found, “Have no anxiety about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). And I found, “For I know the plans I have or you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). … and I took comfort, but I still didn’t see the window opening.

So, what do you do when you don’t see that streak of light breaking through the window to conquer the darkness? Easy, you praise God!

Here are three simple ways:

  1. Simply pray. Every time we pray we are communicating with our Father, we are talking to Him.
  2. Sing a song. Praising God isn’t so much about Him as it is about me. Through song I can be taken away to another world to reflect on His great love and mercy.
  3. Offer it up. When we unite our sufferings with Christ, we add meaning to them.

So, Fraulein Maria was right, “Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” That catch is, sometimes that window takes longer to open than we had hoped. It’s up to us what we do while we wait.

About the Author:

Kelly Wahlquist is a wife, mother of three, inspiring Catholic author and speaker residing in Minnesota. She is the founder of WINE: Women In the New Evangelization, Assistant Director for the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute, and contributing writer for Catholicmom.com. Her book Created to Relate: God’s Design for Peace & Joy encourages and inspires women to live fully their beautiful God-given gifts for building relationships. She is the creator and editor of  Walk in Her Sandals: Experiencing Christ’s Passion through the Eyes of Women. Kelly travels the country speaking to all on topics that inspire us to live the New Evangelization, but has a special love for speaking at Catholic women’s events.