Door closing, door opening...

GJones27

Tell me about a time when God closed a door, but another one opened. 

I've been thinking a lot about it today.  My FI, who is in business school, just went through recruiting week and didn't get a single offer.  He is devastated, and although he knows something will come through, he didn't sleep last night apparently, as he was trying to figure out what God has in store for him.  He thought he wanted to do consulting, and he worked so hard for months to prepare for the case interviews.  Now he's wondering if he's meant to do entrepreneurship.  However, that latter course has a high risk of failure, whereas consulting would have provided us with a lot of security.  It's just one of those crossroad moments.

What have been your experiences making lemonade out of lemons?

loves2shop4shoes

When I started my freshman year of college, I followed my ex-boyfriend to his college.  It wasn't the right college for me.  It was academically sub-par and I hated the area.  I had a lot of VERY negative experiences there.  I finally decided to transfer.  Transferring colleges meant it would be harder to make friends, I'd be going to a MUCH more expensive university, and I would have to take an extra semester of classes.  BUT...

I met my FI at transfer student orientation at my new university.  His job was to be a student advisor to the transfer students and I was placed in HIS SPECIFIC group.  If I hadn't made the wrong choice of university in the first place, I would have never been at the transfer student orientation and there's a good chance (especially given how large my university was) that I would have never met FI.

rachelea

I moved to Florida (I lived in PA) after graduating college because I had been dating a guy from Miami. He had broken up with me right before my seniro year and I hoped that by moving to Florida we could work things out (he had said that he didn't know if it was over for us, just wrong time). Anyway, moved to Florida, I saw him a few months after moving here, and realized it was over, SO over, and I was done letting him have me on hold. Long story short, a few years later I met FI. Had I not moved to Florida, I never would have met him. There was no way our paths would have crossed up north. God made me so grateful to be in Florida after I realized things weren't going to work with that first guy, God told me that I was exactly where he wanted me...just took a little bit of time for me to figure out the reason exactly why

kellya01

I was teaching somewhere and basically told that my job was meaningless and I was not a vital part of the school.  I could still be full-time and obtain career status, but I knew I would be miserable.  I resigned and moved back home and put my home on the market.  I got a job teaching at a school 15 mins from my parents home, so while my home was on the market, I lived at home.  In beginning my 2nd year teaching at this new school, I got bumped down to 50% status at the HS and 50% status doing a start-up band program for 2 months at another school in the district, then got bumped back to full-time at the HS in the midst of marching band season (which is hard on any HS band director, not just a 50% putting in more than full-time work).  Well, end of the year comes, and I know that my position is getting cut, so I resign to save myself and I can claim downsizing in faculty for my job apps.  I find what I thought was full-time teaching chorus at a school 35 mins from parents home, and with home still on the market, decided the drive was worth it.  THEN job went from 100% plus benefits TO 60% and no benefits overnight, no warning, no time to find a new job, but was promised 100% for 2nd semester, which equals an 80% job for the whole school year.  WELL, that got taken away, and God provided an opportunity for me to work full-time to obtain career teaching status ("tenure") in a school 5 minutes down the road from FI's new work which has a stable career path.

God used the time to teach me to live BETTER on a budget, not like I couldn't live on a budget before, but He taught me how to live on even less.  And now, I can take the full-time job (once the paperwork is finished) and get my medical benefits back, get tenure after I've worked there long enough, and it actually sets my FI and I up for a new life TOGETHER in this new town and I am REALLY excited about it, even if the town wasn't on the list of towns I originally wanted to live in.  God has a way of changing my perspective to see the GOOD he has for me when I live in HIS WILL.  

That's my story.  For now.  I'm sure doors will continue to close, and faithfully believe that God will continue to open new opportunities for me.  It's okay to live by faith.  My new theme song is Keith and Kristyn Getty's "By Faith" (Youtube link below):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNIx__JGLGs

sellis128

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_christian-weddings_door-closing-door-opening?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:464687ae-7bc1-4360-9aea-999e11f1e1adDiscussion:ccbfd923-210d-4d52-bb48-2a5b8886d46dPost:ba80071b-a31c-4885-91cb-633818fdb71f">Re: Door closing, door opening...</a>:
[QUOTE]I was teaching somewhere and basically told that my job was meaningless and I was not a vital part of the school.  I could still be full-time and obtain career status, but I knew I would be miserable.  I resigned and moved back home and put my home on the market.  I got a job teaching at a school 15 mins from my parents home, so while my home was on the market, I lived at home.  In beginning my 2nd year teaching at this new school, I got bumped down to 50% status at the HS and 50% status doing a start-up band program for 2 months at another school in the district, then got bumped back to full-time at the HS in the midst of marching band season (which is hard on any HS band director, not just a 50% putting in more than full-time work).  Well, end of the year comes, and I know that my position is getting cut, so I resign to save myself and I can claim downsizing in faculty for my job apps.  I find what I thought was full-time teaching chorus at a school 35 mins from parents home, and with home still on the market, decided the drive was worth it.  THEN job went from 100% plus benefits TO 60% and no benefits overnight, no warning, no time to find a new job, but was promised 100% for 2nd semester, which equals an 80% job for the whole school year.  WELL, that got taken away, and God provided an opportunity for me to work full-time to obtain career teaching status ("tenure") in a school 5 minutes down the road from FI's new work which has a stable career path. God used the time to teach me to live BETTER on a budget, not like I couldn't live on a budget before, but He taught me how to live on even less.  And now, I can take the full-time job (once the paperwork is finished) and get my medical benefits back, get tenure after I've worked there long enough, and it actually sets my FI and I up for a new life TOGETHER in this new town and I am REALLY excited about it, even if the town wasn't on the list of towns I originally wanted to live in.  God has a way of changing my perspective to see the GOOD he has for me when I live in HIS WILL.   That's my story.  For now.  I'm sure doors will continue to close, and faithfully believe that God will continue to open new opportunities for me.  It's okay to live by faith.  My new theme song is Keith and Kristyn Getty's "By Faith" (Youtube link below): <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNIx__JGLGs" rel='nofollow'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNIx__JGLGs</a>
Posted by kellya01[/QUOTE]

Where in NC do you teach Kelly? I am in Brunswick County, and while I am not in the arts department so I don't have to worry quite like you do, I find that crazy they kept doing that to you!!! All of our schools here are staffed full time with arts teachers (theatre, chorus and band at HS level)  and they are supported very well! I know that is lucky, considering when I did my student teaching in Greensboro they didn't even have full time music and art teachers at the elementary level....

GJones27

Thanks for your thoughts and perspectives!  It's good to see how so many wonderful things came out of difficult moments.  And for two of you to find your soulmate after following the wrong guy somewhere is particularly interesting.  Everything really does happen for a reason, and I'm glad you all found your happy paths.

kellya01

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_christian-weddings_door-closing-door-opening?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:464687ae-7bc1-4360-9aea-999e11f1e1adDiscussion:ccbfd923-210d-4d52-bb48-2a5b8886d46dPost:26f117f2-169a-41ab-a8da-93fe592f97d6">Re: Door closing, door opening...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Door closing, door opening... : Where in NC do you teach Kelly? I am in Brunswick County, and while I am not in the arts department so I don't have to worry quite like you do, I find that crazy they kept doing that to you!!! All of our schools here are staffed full time with arts teachers (theatre, chorus and band at HS level)  and they are supported very well! I know that is lucky, considering when I did my student teaching in Greensboro they didn't even have full time music and art teachers at the elementary level....
Posted by sellis128[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I started in Beaufort County (town of Bath, city of Pinetown, NC) for a year (traveling b/t 2 schools), then Durham Public Schools for 2 years (that was the 50% cut, then position cut mess), now Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (60%).  HR in CHCCS leaves a lot to be desired.  NOW I'm getting ready to move to Vance County! :-)  If only HR in VCS would come through with the paperwork!  A lot of districts could care less about non-tenured "arts education" teachers, especially music teachers, because so many people feel like we're expendable.  Thankfully, I've MOSTLY been in schools where I have been appreciated, with the exception of the first one, but my problem has been funding for positions.  As a young non-tenured teacher, it's always first come-first served, and then the old line of "last one hired, first one fired" when budget cuts come down the line.  I have thankfully gotten my head OUT of the down in the dumps feeling, and with good Reason... God always finds a way to provide!</div><div>
</div><div>Sorry about the random typos and random capitalized letters... FI is visiting and I can't be on TK for very long or he'll start reading, LOL!!! :-) 

</div>

JuliaGulia09

Back when I was a senior in high school, I received two amazing scholarship offers from two amazing schools.  I was offered a full ride to the university I'm at now, and a scholarship for full tuition at the college my (now ex) boyfriend was at.  I was 18 and hard headed, so I was pretty set on going to the same college as the boyfriend.  Unfortunately, you had to keep a 3.5 GPA to maintain your scholarship there as opposed to the 2.5 you have to maintain at the college I'm at now.  I accepted the full tuition offer and moved down there.  About a month into school, I discovered my boyfriend had been cheating on me for over a year.  It tore me apart.  I eventually stopped going to class because we had the same major and I just did not want to see him.  I was horribly depressed.  I finished the semester with a 2.4 GPA and that was with begging many professors to let me make up work.  I lost my scholarship for full tuition.

I spent many nights praying to God to send me an answer.  I was lost and confused.  I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.  I was almost ready to drop out of college and work in the daycare I had been working at for the rest of my life.

After a few months, my mom convinced me to reapply to the university I'm at now.  I knew there was no way they'd accept me, but mom told me it was worth a shot.  I sent in my application and made an appointment to talk to someone in admissions about my situation.  My admissions counselor said that while I could be admitted, there was no way I'd receive any financial aid because of my transferring GPA.  I left her office in tears and feeling like a total screw up.

A few days later I received a letter from them with not only an acceptance letter, but a scholarship offer.  I was offered my original scholarship again.  When I went for transfer orientation, my admissions counselor said she has never seen a transfer student, let alone someone with that low of a GPA, receive that much scholarship money. 

I have never taken it for granted.  I am incredibly blessed to have this opportunity.  I have worked hard since I started here and am happy to report I have a 4.0 GPA.  I put my faith in God, and he hasn't let me down since.