I thought I had the perfect career all picked out. I figured that if I became a medical doctor that I could have a reasonably comfortable life, be able to help people in a significant way, and feel as though I was contributing to making the world a little bit better. At least that was my dream.

As I dove into my studies in college, though, I soon began to discover that my path might lead in an entirely different direction. I had to make a decision about which path I would follow into the future, and it wasn’t an easy decision to make. It was during that time that a friend told me, “When someone closes a door, somewhere God opens a window.” That phrase consoled me and enabled me to get through a difficult time. I had to let go of a dream because, at least at the time, it didn’t seem as though circumstances would permit me to attain it.

One path closed while another was waiting to be discovered. It took time and attentiveness on my part to discern that path, but eventually the saying’s truth was borne out. Some years later (more years than I care to count), I can look back and see that God has opened lots of windows for me when doors have gotten shut. It’s pretty amazing how, with God’s help, the support of faith, and the guidance of family and friends, what once seemed like a negative situation could, in time, become a positive situation.

The truth is that God is ready and willing to help us find a way out of situations that drag us down, drain the life from us, change our optimism to pessimism and make us lose hope that things can ever be better. Holly Loughry’s young life attests to the reality and wonder of God’s power to help us change the negative into the positive. Faced with the loss of both her parents at a very young age, Holly could have become a very bitter person. Yet, with the love and support of her grandmother and her aunt, along with the steady presence of God in her life, Holly has taken an altogether different and amazing path.

Nicole Knecht has followed a path that has led her from Flushing to the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, in East Africa. During one summer spent there at St. Mary’s Mission Hospital, Nicole has seen and experienced much more than many her age. In the midst of intense poverty Nicole met Christ in the people to whom she ministered. Bolstered by her experience, there is no doubt in my mind that Nicole will one day soon make a significant impact on the world as she works for justice.

This issue of FAITH is filled with stories of young people who, with God’s help, are working hard to bring good out of difficult situations. Their lives are living proof that God is busily opening windows of opportunity for the growth of the Kingdom. Young people have much to share with us and their optimism about the future is a wondrous antidote to the nay-saying that can sometimes weigh us down. They remind us that with God’s help, the negative can be turned into a positive. They trust, as do we all, that our God always wishes to bring life out of death. And so our journey in FAITH continues.