After reading Rich Strack’s column in the Times News about a standout athlete who got derailed when a football injury ended that part of his life, I related to it on several levels.

I understood the part about being reluctant to see the end of something that was a consuming passion. When we are so wrapped up in something we view as vital to us, it’s devastating when that comes to abrupt end.

I understand the hole that opens inside us when life takes an unwanted detour.

Coincidentally, when I read Rich’s column I had just experienced a sad encounter with my writing colleagues on our Florida newspaper.

Normally, conversations with newspaper colleagues are uplifting. This time, that wasn’t the case.

It’s no secret that newspapers are struggling to survive. Falling readership and revenue due to the coronavirus is making it even harder.

The paper had to do some major cutbacks, and many jobs had to be eliminated. Sadly, some hardworking, longtime reporters and editors were let go.

There are few jobs in journalism, and these longtime newspaper employees are finding it impossible to find another job. Now they have to worry about how to pay their mortgage and how to feed their family.

I was among those furloughed “until revenue improves.” After my former newspaper colleagues told me our newspaper building is closed and up for sale, I’m thinking it doesn’t sound temporary. It’s doubtful I will get called back.

For me, it was only a one day a week job, so it’s not as if I suffered a big financial loss.

But I lost one of my greatest passions - telling stories about the lives of interesting local people.

When you love something as much as I love writing, it’s not an inconsequential loss.

Yet, I also view it as an opportunity - an opportunity to go on to something else I may be called to do.

I always said when I stopped writing features for our Florida paper that it would give me time to do two important things: Take more of the exercise classes l love and volunteer as an intake interviewer for St. Vincent de Paul, my favorite charity.

The rapidly escalating coronavirus in our area has temporarily taken away those options.

Yet I am optimistic because I believe when one door shuts another one opens.

I know that from experience.

There have been times when what I thought was a devastating loss turned out to put me on a much more rewarding path.

One major example happened decades ago when my husband lost his job and we had to leave our hometown and relocate.

If I had my way I would have stayed in Shamokin forever. Yet, what I viewed as a major, stomach-churning setback was actually God setting my husband and me on a better path.

Professionally, personally and spiritually, we thrived in ways that never could have happened had we not moved.

When we lived in Palmerton my husband used to have a poster on his door that said: For all that I have seen, I believe in what I cannot see.

When we relocated, at first we couldn’t see that it was the hand of God leading us to where we were meant to be.

When we were experiencing the heartbreak of having to leave behind family that needed our care along with many friends we cherished, it was no small thing. I left a small town where I knew every man, woman and child. I thrived in that environment.

When we resettled in a new area I remember the emptiness of knowing no one. I specifically remember walking in the grocery store and longing to have someone call me by name.

When I stopped longing for the familiarity of my past and started seeking new friends and other opportunities in my new area, it was one good experience after another.

A change in attitude helped make it happen.

Yet it’s human nature to resist change. When we are comfortable and happy with things they way they are, we hate to see that change.

When David and I married, I was quite happy and active in my church. I thought we should both stay there. His church was a half-hour away and I was sure it couldn’t be as good as mine. When I agreed to give his church a try, I discovered it wasn’t as good as the one I was attending before our marriage.

It proved to be better. Much better. A warm and welcoming women’s group has added the dimension of close friendships that normally take years to develop.

Being open to making a change led to so many new opportunities I never expected.

Now, with the probable ending of my job at our Florida newspaper, I’m faced with another change, one I would not have taken on my own.

What life has taught me is that when life takes an unwanted detour, it might lead to a worthwhile new road.

When circumstances force us to detour to another road in life, I’ve learned the important thing is to stay open to new opportunity.

A closed door doesn’t have to only signal an end. It can lead us to new beginnings.

We need to be open to new opportunity, trust that it will come, and be willing to embrace it when it presents itself.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.