DELAY, DENIAL, DETOUR

DELAY, DENIAL, DETOUR

“Often God shuts the door in our face, and then subsequently opens the door through which we need to go.” Catherine Marshall.

Can you see how a door or opportunity shut in your face could be looked at as a denial, delay, or detour? A jilted lover might think the lost love is a denial when it first happens. They are left feeling unloved and unwanted. As they live through the pain and healing process, they might begin to see the jilt as a delay to finding their true love and the pain and healing process a detour. When true love is found, all of it can be looked at as a detour taken on the route to the final destination. Whether you think delay, denial, or detour, each is a powerful teacher of patience and its faithful companion, wisdom.

My Bachelor of Science degree in biology was received from a small historical Black college in Atlanta, Georgia. I had my heart set on being a physician. I was a great student and graduated with honors while being a sorority girl and a very active participant in campus life. What I was not good at was standardized testing and didn’t score well on the Medical College Admissions Test. I didn’t get accepted in a single medical school. As I think back, I categorized the rejection as a delay. I pursued a graduate degree while I studied and waited to retake the MCAT. My scores improved but not enough to get an admission. I am sure that I categorized this rejection with a red capitalized letter stamp – DENIED. The ramp to medical school was closed so I followed the detour signs and went to work in sales. I thought I would work for a little bit and apply again for med school. The proverbial detour lasted until I left the work force.

A few years into the detour from my “life’s dream,” I discovered something about myself (“Discovery is said to be an accident that meets a prepared mind” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi). I was in love with the idea of being a physician. I would have made an awful doctor for a multitude of reasons. I was content and happy with the direction that my life had taken.

I set a course, unintentional at first, to find my true calling and purpose. The course has taught me patience – how to surrender drama and urgency for the pace of life that the universe has ordained for me. It has imbued me with the desire to seek the wisdom to be gained from any situation and taught me to seek wisdom’s companion, patience, instead of velocity. My life is not perfect, but it is a perfect life for me. I have but one regret, I didn’t realize this earlier but maybe my mind wasn’t prepared.

You can thank my delay, denial, and detour for your deliverance from at least one doctor who wasn’t called to be one but became one anyway. You are welcome.

Jeremiah 6:16

PONDER THIS THOUGHT—-Delays, denials, and detours are transitional moments for new beginnings.