On the cutting room floor

Our oldest is away at college.

That is reason enough to give God mad praise. And not just because we’re one step closer to being empty nesters either. 

Lindsey was blessed with some last minute scholarships that allowed her to be in the dorm she wanted and even some left over cash for books and other incidentals. She was blessed over and beyond. Everything is paid in full. Even meals. When last minute funding fell through, we were wondering how we were going to pull this off.

Fortunately, being in tough spots like this isn’t new for me. I rested in Him. He’s come through before so I refused to trip. I called some good friends and asked them to pray. By the end of the day it was done. God had miraculously come through. I’m talking serious overflow and mad favor. She had so much stuff, we had to bring some of it back home.

Now that’s usually where most folks end the story and you don’t see or hear the part of the testimony that ends up on the cutting room floor. As far as you know everything was smooth sailing from there on out.

Not necessarily.

A friend of mine said that open doors are doors of opposition, doors of opportunity and doors of obligation.

And you better believe this wonderful door of opportunity came with opposition.

Touch your neighbor and say, “the dorms”
She couldn’t hide the disappointment when we finally got in her dorm room (that is another blog post for another day). Her friends go to school where the dorms mirror apartments. They have cable and full-sized refrigerators. Not our school. It’s an older campus and the dorms haven’t been renovated in at least 20 years. The room was dirty. Let’s just say we went out and bought a new mattress pad immediately. We dusted, cleaned floors, drawers and mirrors. We put in work!

Now some would ask, was it still a blessing?

You better believe it.

Open doors come with opposition. Ask Joshua and children of Israel when it came time to possess the Promised Land.

What are these walls made of?
Lindsey sent me a message and said that at 4 a.m. she was awakened to the song,”she got a big boootayyyy.” Loud music and paper thin walls have her scouring the city for a pair of ear plugs. She says it’s ridiculously loud in the dorms and if you know Lindsey loud is not a word used to describe her.

Still, is this door of opportunity a blessing?

Absolutely.

If you didn’t know, there’s a student loan crisis hovering over this country and anytime you’re getting paid to go to school…loan free…is a good thing!

Open doors are also doors of obligation. Lindsey has an obligation to earn her degree with honors. For this semester that means accomplishing the first leg of this journey in a less than ideal place. No worries though. She’s already found off-campus housing that allows her to do a roommate search based on personality. Party animals won’t be paired with bookworms.

She is working this blessing.

She is taking advantage of this open door of opportunity.

And that’s the rest of the testimony from the cutting room floor.