A friend of mine was sharing his story with me about when he lived in New York and fell on tough times. He recalled the time when he had failed to pay his rent and came home one day to find a big white piece of paper stuck to his door with the words, “Eviction Notice.” If that were not bad enough, he tried his key and it would not go into the lock. He explained that in New York when you are evicted the landlord breaks off half a key into the lock. Wow! Half a key. What an insult, a slap in the face. What a feeling of hopelessness. I can almost see the shiny piece of key in the lock. I neglected to ask him if he tried to break off half of his key and fit it into the lock. Have you ever felt the sting of half a key in your life? Maybe you lost your job and your passwords no longer work. Maybe you are in financial hard times and you go to charge groceries and the card is declined. Yes, you may have known it was coming, but when it finally happens to you, fear and feelings of failure set in. Don’t despair! You may not know it, but you hold the keys to unlocking new opportunities, even in a down economy. Your skills and experience can be used to enhance the lives of others. Good news! There was more to my friend’s story. He responded by using the circumstance to move his life forward. He got off drugs, went to college, married his sweetheart and found a new path and purpose through his faith in God and his savior Jesus Christ. He found that Half a Key can be the key to unlock new opportunities.