My window of time

By Enuma Chigbo

Whenever the Lord closes a door, He always opens a window.” I remember these words spoken by Julie Andrews, who played the role Maria, in the ever so popular movie, Sound of Music, which debuted in 1965. I watched it sometime in the mid 70s, but I remember those words like yesterday. For those who may not know this incredibly popular story, (perhaps those born in this new age), Maria had her heart set on being a nun. The harder she tried, the more blunders she made, and finally she was assigned elsewhere.
Indeed, a door closed and perhaps so did her heart. Her dreams of becoming a nun were totally dashed. Perhaps there was nothing more to look forward to, or even live for, for that matter. But, there was a window, a window that opened the doors to actualizing much larger dreams.
It all started with music. Maria would bring joy to seven children, through the amazing gift of music given to her by the Lord. In so doing, she filled the huge void in their hearts, stemming from the loss of their mother, but that was not all. In good time, she became Mrs. Von Trapp. She married their father. Apart from this being an incredible love story, she would be the ideal help meet to her husband Captain Von Trap. Together, to escape an assignment from the Nazi’s who the captain opposed, they moved along with their children, away from their homeland Austria on foot, over the mountains, ending up in Switzerland, where it is presumed that they lived happily ever after.
So, the doors to the abbey were closed, but somewhere in that closure, a window opened, opened into places Maria never dreamed of. Indeed, I would remember this movie as I look into my window of time. My window of time in this case, is the year 2026, when by the grace and mercy of the Good Lord, I will reach yet another milestone. I look into this window, and I wonder what the Lord has to say. Though the picture is not crystal clear, my attention is drawn to a certain special Nigerian tribe, an intelligent, industrious tribe, excelling individually but for some reason the story is different when functioning collectively. This to me is one of the greatest mysteries ever, but for now, I will try as best as possible to look into the window of 2026.
I look into this window, and a scripture rolls out immediately. “I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” (Joshua 5:9) Now, what is a reproach? Some definitions are: an expression of rebuke or disapproval, a cause or occasion of blame, discredit or disgrace, one subjected to censure or scorn. Egypt in this case symbolized a long-standing issue of negativity, and somehow, this brings a tad bit more clarity to my window of time.
Perhaps there have been situations in your life that can be best described as a reproach, and as a result doors have closed and remained closed for what seems like an eternity. In this vein, I remember this beautiful tribe and know in my heart that things will begin to turn around in 2026.
Indeed, the year 2026 is the year of the window. For all those closed doors, I say rejoice because windows do exist and will open up into places you never imagined possible.
So, I say enjoy the rest of 2025 as the windows open into 2026.