PROBLEMS: A LESSON ABOUT HANDLING THEM

Today I can say, “thank you Lord for sparing us.” One of the first lessons that I began to learn is that every problem is not for me to solve. I am not sure how or why it began, but I would hear about problems that I took on as my duty to seek solutions. What made it difficult for me to resist the problem solving mode was that I was generally successful with finding effective solutions. In preparing grant proposals for others, this skill was actually be a stumbling block. I helped people get funded that really should not have been.

A dear friend of mine, Midge Lansat helped me understand that this was over functioning. I also realized that it made me appear to be a control hound. I was only trying to help. But my helping often over burdened myself and my reluctantly obliging family.

This lesson that “every problem is not for me to solve” was coupled with “just because I could do something did not mean that I should do something.” I am sure to get more than a few “Amens” in agreement with that statement.

I used to wonder why Jesus did not simply stand at the top of the highest mountain, stretch out his hands and say, “every body in the world - be healed.” I knew that he could do this and all suffering from sickness would end at that instant. But as I learned more about the purpose of human development on earth, I realized that if Jesus took away all of the pain and suffering on earth, many of us would be robbed of the opportunity and responsibility that is developing us for our next level of existence.

Many outreach oriented people like me are doers. We want to do something about a problem that really bothers us. We are natural “wanna be” problem solvers. This mindset is further complicated by having the ability to actually do a number of tasks well.

You may ask, “what is wrong with wanting to help where you can make a difference?” What is wrong is that the constant pull of new problems can greatly interfere with fulfilling the true calling that God has ordained. When people operate in what they have been anointed to do, there is a certainty of success. With each success comes an awareness that the journey and efforts are on the correct path. There is also a sense of nearing a state of completion- not lacking anything.

On the journey to completeness, there is no space for emptiness or time for regrets. There are many doers that fill empty. I believe that this emptiness is the result of not connecting with what they were intended to accomplish. My understanding about the importance of operating in your calling began to sprout with my first serious effort to produce a government grant proposal.

When writing a government grant proposal, you will be forced to settle upon a single problem or else you will find it quite difficult to complete the documentation. You will be required to thoroughly account for every effort that you presented as necessary. This accountability is what helped me to become much more disciplined in my own stewardship of time as well as resources.

Fortunately, I ultimately realized that every problem is not mine to solve. I realized that I must account for the time and effort that I contribute towards trying to solve problems. In being accountable, it became harder for me to justify spending time with issues that could possibly return income, but little results. However the problems that I was prepared to address offered compensation as well as a track record for success.