By Anna Brink
Once upon a time, there was a worldwide pandemic. While the world’s leaders worked hard to keep people healthy, the government asked everyone to stay in their homes.
One woman was doing just that, while also watching the news and praying. During the first week at home, she heard a knock at the door. From a window, she saw who it was: Anxiety. She wasn’t surprised to see him. He knocked often. She sighed, then opened the door.
“Hello, I’m here! Let me in, won’t you? This pandemic is crazy, right? We have so much to process together!” Anxiety said.
“Well, that’s true,” the woman answered, and she led the way to the kitchen table where they immediately started talking.
Several hours later, she heard another knock at the door. She considered ignoring it because she had so much more to process with her current guest, and anyway, what if this new guest had the virus?
But the gentle knocking continued. So the woman got up from the kitchen table to answer the door. To her surprise, it was a face she hadn’t seen in a while.
“Hello! Thanks so much for answering the door. I’ve knocked on several, but you’re the first to open up.”
She squinted her eyes, studying him. “Oh! Opportunity, right?”
“Yes! That’s me!” he answered.
“I don’t think this is a good time for me. Come back later, when things calm down.”
He paused, then looked at her with sincerity and a bit of urgency. “I know this may seem like strange timing,” he said, “but I have so many wonderful things to talk with you about.”
She hesitated. “Well . . . why don’t you come in, Opportunity? For a little while? I have Anxiety here too, so we can all talk together.”
“Oh,” he replied, “No . . . thank you, but that won’t work.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“Anxiety and I can’t stay in the same place. It just doesn’t work.”
“But he was here first,” the woman replied.
“True. . . .” Opportunity thought for a moment. “Let me ask you this: Is he helping you?”
“Hmm, well, yes, I mean . . . the future is unclear, and there’s so much to figure out. He’s helping me process it.”
“Have you come to any conclusions?”
“Well, not yet. But I’m sure if we just keep talking and listening to the news, we’ll come up with some answers. Right?”
Opportunity sighed. He looked her straight in the eyes. “I know it seems like you will, but you won’t.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “I’ve been praying for answers, and he’s here, and you’re here too. So, how can that be?”
“Sometimes when you’re putting a puzzle together, there are two pieces that look very similar,” Opportunity said gently. “They both look like they will fit, but they won’t. So, you have to stop trying to force the look-alike into the spot. The look-alike leads to frustration . . .”
His voice trailed off, and the woman picked up, “And the other one actually completes the picture?”
“Yes!” he said, excitedly. “So please, there’s so much I have for you. So many blessings. I don’t want you to miss out.”
“Miss out on what? I’m just stuck in my house right now. It’s awful. There’s nothing to do but wait.”
“Oh, but there are things to do. There are special moments with your family and neighbors that can happen only under these circumstances. There are extraordinary assignments you’ve been given . . . opportunities God destined for you for this time! The Father is very creative—you should see all of the amazing plans he has for you!”
She stared at him with wide eyes, his excitement contagious. But almost immediately, a thought shaded her optimism, “I don’t think Anxiety is going to leave easily. Trust me, he’s stubborn.”
“Oh I know! But once he realizes there’s no place for him here, he’ll finally leave . . . at least for a while.”
A new look of determination crossed the woman’s face. She turned to go back into her home. She knew it could be a daily, even hourly battle, keeping Anxiety out so she could host Opportunity. She realized Anxiety would come knocking on her door again. But she had a feeling this was the real piece to the puzzle she had been praying about.
Anna Brink is a writer and children’s theatre director who lives in Lebanon, Ohio. She and her husband, Ryan, have three kids and one spoiled pug.
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