A Whisper in the Background

It was about ten or so years ago that I was riding in the car with my dad and my older brother.  I have no idea where we were going, but naturally, we were listening to good music.  This time it was The Doors "Riders on a Storm."  We were probably in the amazing White Suburban (there are many stories along with that car) and we were listening to the radio when the song came on.  My dad had taught me mountains of valuable knowledge, and it was on this occasion that he felt it was time to teach me yet again.

"Listen," he said, "in the background of the song, he's whispering the words."

I was around 10 years old when this happened.  At the time I smiled a cowardly smile and said, "wow..."  I had NO idea what he was talking about.  I listened as hard as I could, but nothing.  I just heard, "riders on the storm....riders on the storm.....into this house we're born, into this world we're thrown....riders on the storm..."

No whisper.  Just a creepy song.  Fast-forward a few years.  Maybe it was just the technology that had changed, however I would like to think that my maturity took some part, but I was listening to the same song on an iPod.  The first generation.  The goofy looking one with the four buttons on the top.  The song comes on and here I was listening as HARD as I could for this stinkin' whisper.

Voilà!!!  There it was!  Jim Morrison's raspy whisper, hidden behind the guitar!  It was there.  The Doors had come through!

For some people, you'll read this and think: "What the heck are you talking about?  What does this have to do with anything?"  Well....it actually makes perfect sense to me.  And since it's my blog and my blue chair, I can write whatever I please.

I've been thinking about the doors lately.  That is, doors with a little "d"; not Jim Morrison and his band of miscreants.  I'm at a time in my life when doors are all over the place.  But it has taken me a long time to figure out which I am supposed to go through.  I know that soon, very soon, the door that I am in will be closing.  I'm in the threshold and I can feel the door closing and bumping my heels.

I feel like I've been searching for a while, and it wasn't until recently that I could finally hear the whisper behind the door.  I was afraid that the door would close and I'd be left outside.  That's not a comfortable feeling, especially for the soon-to-graduate, newly-married, male.  There's something about not knowing what's going to happen next, that terrifies men.  And for those of you men that disagree, I call you a liar.  God designed in us a drive to sustain, a drive to comfort, a drive to protect, a drive to provide.  And when we don't know how that's going to work out, it's scary.

But recently I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out the door that God has for me.  And I think I found the direction.  That doesn't mean I found the door.  It simply means, "set sail in a...uh...a general...that way! direction." 

We have our heading.  It's not a "compass that doesn't point north", by which I find guidance.  It's the whisper behind the door.  I can finally hear it.  I know it's out there.  I'm catching up.  Somewhere down the hall there is the door God is waiting for me to open.  It's frustrating that along the way that I'll find door after door to be locked.  But now that I know there is a door out there, it only strengthens my resolve.  I just need to listen carefully.  I'll find it.