Another doorway -

Wishing it was into Narnia!

Lucy enters the wardrobe in Disney’s - “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

I am fascinated with doors. Intrigued by their diversity, doors can describe so much about what is on the other side, either by their detail or their simplicity. They often reflect the traveler's relationship to the point of entry.

There are times when doors open onto a challenging path. Moving through these portals can require as much courage as one can gather.

This week, I faced such an entrance. Once again, I encountered a very familiar doorway: the sterile double doors of an operating room. As with most of my other surgeries (I think I just counted 18), I approached these doors with faith in God's healing spirit, trust in those who cared for me, and gratitude for all who held me in their thoughts and prayers.

I would be remiss not to list “feeling anxious.” Meeting this particular threshold can leave a couple of scary stories in the mix. For example, finding good access to place an IV is never easy. My veins seem to know where they are when I enter a hospital and run away as fast as they can. As practiced as I am in slow breathing and calming techniques, this one fact can create a lot of stress before I even see the doorway! Fortunately, a kind and gentle nurse used an ultrasound to find just the right place for this surgery’s IV. A gift that provided a small sense of peace in the midst of surgery’s natural chaos.

With a little medicine's assistance, I barely remembered the steel doors this time! The next thing I knew, there was a threshold of another kind, a curtain that was pulled back to reveal I was in the recovery room. Everything had gone well, and soon, I would leave for home. Another one for the history books!

I have traveled through a series of amazing and beautiful doorways throughout my life. Each one has encouraged my growth and understanding. Not all are easy or attractive, but I have traveled through them with determination and curiosity.

Like the wardrobe in CS Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which led four children into a land called Narnia, many portals take us to places requiring more strength, wisdom, and courage than we ever knew we had. And like the gentle nurse who helped place my IV, these places can introduce us to new friends who appear to guide us along the way.

With all of this in mind and heart, I give thanks for being on the other side of yet another surgery. Onward and upward!