A Step of Faith Through an Open Door

Post date: Sep 03, 2011 11:9:51 PM

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole

staircase. Just take the first step." - Martin Luther King Jr.

We've all heard this before: "When a door slams in your face, God opens a window..." Or is it, "When one door hits you in the hind end, God will open a bigger door..." Well, I think it goes something like that. Point is, God is always working to bring about the best no matter how things change. So, when I was told by the former fitness director at the View that they would be moving my classes so they could focus on aerobics-type instruction, I immediately saw this as a great opportunity...uh, yeah...not exactly...

My first thought was probably not something I can print here. My second thought was thankfulness that they weren't movin' us out of the center altogether. Still, moving us to a carpeted room in the rear of the building, and eliminating our Thursday classes was unacceptable and would pretty much destroy our group. And though I was told that we could _probably_ get back into the regular slot, a timeframe that we'd held for a couple years, I didn't really believe it; instead of counting on things going back to how they had been, I started prayin' for an open door and working for a new direction.

After researching many options outside of the community center and viewing several places in the area, I contacted the Grandview Lions club and they were excited for me to see the space they had to offer. I remember waking up the morning that I was to go see the place and the thought came to me: "see if for what it could be, not for what it is..." And as a result, after about a month of work, we have an actual, real, karate dojo of our own!

Wow, I did not see this comin'...

The work on the new dojo began in middle November, and by December 23, all major work was complete. We still have some painting and tiling to do, but otherwise, the place looks and feels great. I've done many large and small projects involving the government and independent contractors but none had _ever_ gone as smoothly and easily as this...it has to be a God thing, and I mean that.

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - Robert F. Kennedy

Yes, this is a huge step, but it is also a great opportunity. To be able to train consistently, when we want and how long we want in a space that is our own will be a gigantic boon to our learning and to our group's overall ability and general feel.

Still, this is a huge risk with the potential of being a huge failure, but I have learned and have truly come to believe that it is better to go boldly in faith than to shrink back in overcalculating fear. And if we fail, we will have learned many things that we did not know before, and we will be stronger for it. But when we succeed, when we begin to reach higher levels of skill, when we begin to outgrow our new walls, when we become _the_ place to train...wow, I can't even imagine what the great and far-reaching results will be.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

- Helen Keller

So, forward we go into this grand, exciting new adventure, the new year and the new dojo. For sure, there will be challenges, there will be setbacks and times when I wonder "what the freak?", but at least I was willing to take that step of faith and leave the rest to the One who opened the door.

EDB

01.01.09