Every month we submit an article written by one of the elders or church members to Great Shelford's monthly magazine. Here is our latest contribution for the February 2025 edition.

“He brought me into a spacious place because he delighted in me.” Psalm 18:19

When is a door not a door….. ?

Recently, at a conference venue, I encountered a gentleman who was unable to exit the building. He had approached the automatic doors but when they did not open he realised there was a door release button on the left which needed to be pressed to unlock the doors.  However, when he pressed this button the doors still remained firmly closed, despite several attempts. He became increasingly flustered and frustrated with the ‘un-automatic’ opening doors, until another person pressed a door release button to the right of the door, causing the doors to slide open immediately  and they were both able to leave the premises. The button he had been pressing was to unlock a separate, and smaller door to the side, a door which,  once unlocked by the door release button,  needed to be pushed open manually. This poor man had been unlocking one set of doors but trying to leave by an entirely different set of doors.

As we move into the second month of 2025, I wonder how many new things you have tried, tested, or taken up, or have you simply been content to revert to your default settings?

Trying new things is a bit like opening doors to new adventures: going to new places, learning new skills, making new friends for example. For some these are welcome adventures but for others of us developing new practices appears too daunting, so we choose to go with the more familiar,  comfortable option: the ‘automatic’. However, when we push the doors of opportunity to try new things and learn different ways of viewing and living in the world,  not only do we grow in wisdom and understanding but we can also  avoid becoming  overwhelmed by what is going on around us.

For me, opening the door of belief in Jesus, and faith in God has been a magnificent adventure. It’s a door which many people miss because they are so focussed on the immediacy of what is before them, and miss the alternative door at the side.  If faith is new to you, or not something you have considered before, or perhaps never quite got round to, I recommend that you take a moment to push open and explore this door that you have maybe missed: a door that leads us to a spacious place where we can dwell in safety with the one who delights in us.
 
Blessings
Diana Parr
Pastor