Obstacles

They say when life gives you lemons to make lemonade.  But that requires a lot of sugar or other sweetener and the supply runs low.  There must be a lot of lemonade, and I’m sure a lot of sour to go with it.  So we learn to make the best with what we’re dealt in life – at least that’s what we should do.  Complaining surely does no good, I know, I've tried it countless times and it only brings more sorrow.

The longer we live the more we learn if we are willing to allow life’s obstacles to teach us the lessons of life.  Some lessons come easy, others seem impossible.  For instance, as a child you stub your toe and normally one would learn how to prevent that from happening in the future.  Then there are the struggles of life we can do nothing to change, such as the death of a loved one, illness and disease we can do nothing about.  What can we learn from these situations to make them more bearable?  What about relationships that turn sour and you’re in a situation you cannot walk away from – to the point they seem to delight in making your life miserable?  So we are faced with tough circumstances that require one to maintain sanity against all odds.

The other day I was at a Wendy’s and the server that was helping me was about 17 and all smiles and cheerful, making the ordering process most pleasant.  A while later I happened to ask her why she was so happy?  Her response was, “I’m the opposite of happy.  I’m having a horrible day and nothing’s going right.”    I then asked her how she manages to be so cheerful and she told me she always gives people a smile.  Wow!  How many of us demonstrate that kind of cheer when we are down?

The point here is regardless of the hardships we are faced with we can still put on a happy face.  This is something that can be learned if we are willing to.  We often cannot change our circumstances but we can change our response to them.  When sorrow comes our way it may not be easy to put a smile on our face but we can resolve to be pleasant.  Having to be around people who set out to make life miserable for you is a tough one for me to learn to deal with.  This is one lesson I’m really struggling with, but I know there’s a way through this and I will find the solution.  I probably already know the answer, it’s a matter of applying the correct attitude and action rather than let my emotions get the best of me.

Facing the illness of a close loved one is difficult to deal with.  There’s nothing you can do for them except offer your love and support.  Of course, compassion must be primary in our actions.  But what does that do for the sorrow you feel toward your loved one?  Is there a way around that?  One must always exercise hope as worry has a negative result on life.

Facing difficulties is very challenging.  A couple important questions to ask are, “What am I to learn from this?  What must I do to have a positive outcome to this obstacle?  Then “keep the faith”, continue to hope and always look for the positive, for there’s always a positive to every negative.  If you cannot find it within yourself always ask others, but the most important is to always look to God as He is the ultimate problem solver.  Shalom.