Spirituality: When frustrated, look for another way
Dear friends,
There had to be more than one way to get there. At least that's what I thought. I drove down Elm Street and was confronted with a work crew and two police cruisers. They were doing road work. The driveway to the church was completely blocked. I panicked. It was Wednesday. Aside from Sunday mornings, it is our busiest day of the week.
All I could picture was car after car filled with angry people. A similar thing happened three years ago on the night of our big Vacation Bible School family picnic. With a hundred and fifty people about to arrive, the road crew had shut down the street to fix a water main break. What could we do? We had to find an alternate route into the church for everyone.
Thankfully, we have a little known entrance through the back of the property. It is there for emergencies. So I got to work and put out the signs. All we needed to do was direct traffic that way. Of course, life doesn't always allow us that luxury. Things come up. The plans we make fall apart. The road we are on gets shut down and we get detoured. What do you do?
That's when the serenity prayer helps. You stop. You look up. Then you pray. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." When we focus on what we can't do, and what we are missing, we allow ourselves to be overcome by emotion and lose sight of our goals.
When faced with a challenge, Dr. Robert Schuler used to advocate for the "Rule of 10." When you are stuck and need to look for alternatives, he told us to go beyond the two or three that quickly come to mind. By listing ten possibilities, you will always find a way to move forward. At least one of them will be something you've not considered before.
Too many of us give up too easily and walk away feeling defeated. There are no cookie cutter solutions to the challenges we face in life. What you did last time may not work. There may be a more expedient way to overcome the difficulty this time. You need to keep an open mind and explore every option, even ones that seem a little crazy.
One scholar pointed out that Jesus used many different ways to heal people. Each healing seemed particular to the person he was with. One woman simply needed to touch the hem of his garment. Jesus spit into the mud and put it on the eyes of a second man. He spoke a word and a child was healed. He reached out to a lame man and he got up and walked away.
I learned a long time ago that life can be hard. The challenges can be discouraging but you have to hold on. God always answers our prayers. The way forward may not come in the way you expect it. Yet, God always makes a way. So trust him. Then look for that opening and follow God where he leads.
God bless! See you in church. Cal
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Spirituality: When frustrated, look for another way
