Dear Lord, thank you for my problems
A while back I read an entertaining and all-too-serious blog article about how we are married to our problems. Sometimes it a union made in heaven, on other occasions it is a marriage of convenience, and always the relationship with our problems is a relationship that is uniquely and solidly our own.
Someone else's problem...
You see, a problem isn’t just an obstacle to be overcome, it is a gift that is given to you to lovingly consider, wholly embrace, and perhaps one day completely overcome. Problems don’t come to us because there is evil in the world that we can’t escape, and which we must endure like martyrs. Problems are ours because we’ve honestly earned them, and because we’re ready for them–just. Problems come to us because there is a loving entity or internal rule in the universe that distributes wealth and lack equitably, and always makes sure that we get our just and fair share of each.
Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a deeply religious man. I don’t always look too generously at my own problems, and I surely don’t want anything to do with yours. But lately I’ve realized that my problems (and yours) aren’t anywhere near the worst thing we’ve got to deal with on a daily basis. The world’s problems are much more enticing, and if we stop to think about it (which I just have), they may be even more worth our consideration than our own problems. Whenever I think, “man, I’m hungry”, or “why am I feeling so achy today”, I can look at country that is suffering from perennial famine or one that has just been hit with a merciless flood or a devastating earthquake, and think that quite possibly my problems aren’t really all that big or that unsolvable.
Of course, if you’re going through a serious illness or a facing challenges in your most important relationships, it can be hard and even impossible to wax philosophical that “others have much worse problems”. However, the fact is that problems and challenges and trials all come to us in exact proportion to our abilities to handle them, or not!
We don’t learn much about our problems by running from them, although taking off on the occasional anti-heroic foot race can be instructional too. In the tale of the hare and the tortoise, our problems are likely to take on the plodding patience of the slower animal, while we race and bluster our way onward without a solution. We aren’t likely to gain much support from those around us by bitching and kvetching about our lot in life, because, remember, others have their own problems too. Whenever we think we just can’t tolerate any more, any more is just as likely to put us to one more test. All great problems come to those who wait.
I guess the bottom line is we all got problems. We get what we pay for. And sometimes what we get in the way of challenges seems way more than is fair. The only way we have of facing our issues is to face them the best we can. Dealing with our problems, can be and should be our most creative and most holy work. Dealing with the rough and tumble of every day live, may be our best shot at self-improvement. It may also be one of our best opportunity to find meaning in life. With out a challenge, my life might just lack some of the depth of color or texture that it has, simply because I have problems.
The next time a new problem comes your way, consider looking at with a little more generosity and a little more fondness than you have with ones you’ve been facing awhile. This new problem may become a good friend. in solving this new problem, or at least living with it for awhile, perhaps you’ll learn to deal with older, tougher problems that you’ve been dealing with. And even if you don’t fair so well with this newcomer, you may come to realize that each new problem, each new challenge contains a new opportunity. Perhaps it is an opportunity for greatness, or perhaps the new problem is just a reminder that life may not always be fun, but it is always marvelous.
