The doors of Leffe Abbey, in Belgium, have a way of cropping up in our publications. This particular image made a fine header to our New Year’s edition of @St. Norbert, out yesterday. Dave Wegge (Political Science) wrote about the threshold of 2014 as a door of opportunity in a year that will see him step through another door – the one that is soon to close on his 35 years as a member of the faculty at St. Norbert.
And it was this image (right) of the side door to Leffe (which has a long brewing tradition) that helped illustrate our article about Norbertine beers, History in a Bottle. (Incidentally, Leffe beer is now readily available in the De Pere area, to meet the growing demand created in part by the proximity of our own abbey.)
Drew took both these photos a few years ago when he visited the small abbey in Dinant, Belgium, as part of a group from the college exploring our roots in European history and the Norbertine order. A couple of years later these were the doors that would open to your editor in her turn, in an extraordinary act of monastic hospitality that recalled Matthew 7:7: I Slept Like a Bishop.
Anyway, here’s Dave’s reflection in its entirety. There’s a poignant coda to his message: since he wrote it, one of his best friends – a man whom Dave says opened many significant doors for him – has died. Dave drew on this imagery when he wrote to his friend’s widow – and the pastor presiding at the funeral referenced Dave’s words, too.
Doors Opened, Doors Closed
With this reflection on the turn of the year from Dave Wegge (Political Science, Strategic Research Institute), we send our warmest wish that 2014 will, indeed, be a Happy New Year for you and for all in the worldwide community of St. Norbert.
I have been thinking a lot about doors recently. No, not the doors to our homes or places of work, but the doors of our lives.
As we enter the season of Epiphany, think about the door that opened for us with the birth of Jesus, God’s gift of grace and everlasting life. Could there ever be a more glorious door presented to us?
The New Year provides a new door for all of us – and walking through new doors is risky. Be willing to take the right risks, but also have the strength to stand firm and close those doors that need to be closed. As you step across the threshold into 2014, I encourage you to make this a special year in your life by opening wide the doors to gratitude and growth.
I see doors as a metaphor for the decisions that we make in our lives or the events that are cast upon us. And I myself am about to walk through a pretty sizeable door into a new phase of my life: retirement from St. Norbert College after 35 years on the faculty. What will life be like on the other side? Grand, I hope!
Thresholds to new experience Life’s road can be seen as a series of doors. Sometimes we open those doors, sometimes they are opened for us; at times we close them, and sometimes others close them for us. These doors can open and close in an instant. What lies behind those thresholds can transform our lives forever.
As for myself, as I think about walking through the door to retirement, I look back and ask, how did I get to this point in my life?
When I create a map of my life I can see what doors opened for me and what doors were closed. Was there, in fact, a grand plan that God had in mind for me? Was that His guiding voice inside of me saying “Dave, open this door” or “Dave, close this door”?
When I graduated from high school I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I wanted to be. So I went to college. I was not a very serious student that first year, and then a new door opened before me. I was selling shoes at J. C. Penney to work my way through college when the manager found out I wasn’t the stellar student he perhaps thought I was. He said “… college isn’t for everyone. Why don’t I get you into the J. C. Penney manager trainee program?” That was actually a bit tempting, as he was obviously a successful businessperson and was enjoying a good life. But, after careful consideration, I decided to take my studies more seriously. I closed that door and a new one, to the world of academics, opened for me.
That was one bookend to my career. Now I am putting in place the other bookend as I close out my formal academic career. I can look back and see that many exciting new doors have opened at St. Norbert College during my tenure. And the college has itself recently opened several new points of entry for others – doors through which we will welcome the Medical College of Wisconsin to our campus; move forward with Campaign St. Norbert Full Ahead; embark upon a new core curriculum; and hire new young inspiring faculty and staff.
I am grateful to have been a small part of the college’s development over these past several years. And I ask, as members of a college community guided by the spirit ofcommunio, have we been successful at helping open the doors facing our students and our colleagues? Did we close some doors for them? Were we vigilant in assisting them in making the best decision to open or close a door?
These decisions should continue to challenge us, for we know that once any of us steps through a door, or closes it, we have changed our lives forever.
May the blessing of Christ be upon the doors of your lives and homes, and a very happy new year to you all.
Our image shows the doors of the Abbey of Leffe, in Dinant, Belgium. The Norbertines of Leffe have extended warm hospitality to many of the college community who have crossed their threshold. Their guests have included groups of faculty, staff and students who have had the privilege of traveling as part of the college’s year-long Cornerstones Seminar, an examination of the college’s Catholic and Norbertine roots in Europe.
Jan. 7, 2013
