The Narrow Door

At my church in Boulder there is a very heavy side door. It is hard to open from either side, so many people simply avoid it and go into the church and out through the front doors. Linda Meadows is one of the women who do gardening for the parish. She has helped to develop this beautiful garden of flowers and plants along the wall and path going to this heavy door. You can only see the garden and appreciate its beauty if you go through the heavy door.

Prayer can be like the heavy door and the garden. At some point, as we deepen our relationship to God, prayer seems to get more difficult, or "heavy". We get bored. We think God has gone away. We feel empty at times. This is normal. God wants to take us to some more beautiful place of intimacy and union, like a garden of flowers that is hidden. We have to go through a bit of a dark night, bear our cross, love without conditions or seeming rewards, for a time.

If we can go through this door, or rather allow God to take us through this door, then something beautiful will be revealed to us. So when God does not seem to act nice or give you good feelings do you just walk away? Give up? You will miss the garden.