Nicole Guttermuth

A New Day

By Nicole Guttermuth

The optimist in me loves the saying “when one door closes, another one opens.”

While it might be entirely cliché — it is a saying after all — in my experience as a faithful follower of God, I have found this statement to be true. Always.

I could write a dissertation about plans I’ve made that have fallen through. Heck! I could write a series of advice columns tracing back the initial string that began to unravel my marriage until it all came apart despite my best efforts to repair the holes and stich up the weaknesses.

When I got married eight years ago, I took those vows seriously. I had no intention of ever considering the “D” word; however, at a certain point, the matter was out of my hands. I worked tirelessly at damage control.

Ultimately, as with any type of partnership or team, people have to be working together toward the same goal if they are going to accomplish whatever it is on which they’ve set their sights. Because there is no “I” in team, one person cannot carry the entire load 100 percent of the time.

Eventually it became apparent that this particular door was closing, and no matter what efforts I made to prop it open, some gust of wind would whip by and slam it shut.

As a woman of faith, I knew in my heart that my journey was by no means ending. I knew, without a doubt (maybe some fearful apprehension, but never a doubt) that God has had a plan for me all along.

When one door closes, another opens.

Alexander Graham Bell took this idiom a step further, and I love the caveat he tacked onto the end: “when one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

I cringe when thinking about how many times I’ve done this: wallowed so long and so deeply in feelings of failure, guilt and regret that I have been blind to new opportunities for positive growth and forward motion.

It is easy, when things don’t work out the way we wanted or planned, to focus on the could’ves, would’ves and should’ves. But what purpose does this really serve?

Don’t misunderstand, we all need time to grieve and process losses and changes in our lives, but once we’ve given ample time to this period, life is about moving forward and tucking the lessons we’ve learned into our bag of tools, so we are not doomed to repeat the same behaviors that didn’t work out well for us the first go-round.

At some point, it is time to move forward, to step through the new door that has opened before our very eyes, leading us in a different direction.

Is there anything holding you back, causing you to look regretfully behind, instead of walking through the endless possibilities of the newly opened door in your life?

Olivia Fowler

On The Way

By Olivia Fowler

The Doodle Trail is actually going to become a reality, and I’m thrilled. Also, I am grateful to the mayors, city administrators and city councils of Pickens and Easley for making this happen.

It can be difficult and sometimes almost impossible for a group of people to agree on a project of this scope. Especially if there is a vocal and hostile minority actively spreading rumors and cultivating a crop of fear and distrust.

I think repurposing a spent railway for the good of the entire community is an ingenious way to turn something useless back into a vital part of the future.

It’s an exciting step forward.