Hello, My Friend!
And Happy Tuesday! Guess what I’m going to talk about today! Gosh, I don’t know, Patti. Something uplifting? Something positive and encouraging? The answer to those questions is, “No!” You see, today I’m going to talk about problems. Problems? Seriously? You, betcha! Wait! Don’t click out of this email! You know there will be some positive twist at the end, right? (I don’t know what it is yet, but I’ll get there.)
Somehow, the other day, I recalled a statement my new boss told me back in 1985 on my first day of work. I had just started employment as the activity director at a nursing home in Atlanta, Georgia. For the life of me, I can’t remember this man’s name. I know we addressed him as Mr. (Last Name) and not by his first name. And so he shall hereby be dubbed “Mr. Last Name.”
Mr. Last Name was the administrator of this facility and the official “top dog” of the place. I have traditionally been intimidated by top, middle, and even the lowest of dogs. In short, it’s possible for me to be intimidated by even the algae living in a Petri dish. It’s just the way I’ve been.
As Mr. Last Name gave me the rundown of my job responsibilities, he added a sentence I still hear in my head. I can’t remember this man’s name, but I still hear his voice. Here’s what he said.
“Problems are meant to be solved.”
I don’t remember the exact context of that statement; I guess he was just letting me know that if I encountered a problem, I shouldn’t let it fester—that I could bring it to his attention, and we’d figure it out. Problems were meant to be solved. Oh, and, by the way, he said it very nonchalantly, as though problems were no big deal.
I didn’t hear a thing for about three minutes and 43 seconds after he said that because my inner self started talking to me, and she said this . . .
What kind of @#^%* is this guy talking about? Patti! Don’t listen to him! You know how we respond to problems of all sorts, right? Not with calm composure and a “let’s solve this” attitude! We react with panic! With worry! With fret! Don’t let his peaceful, undisturbed nature fool you! Problems are bad, I tell you! BAD!
Of course, I never let on to Mr. Last Name that I was having this conversation in my head with myself. I wouldn’t let him see that if those ancestral/DNA tests were actually a thing in 1985, mine would have come back 5% Swedish and 95% Chicken. Worrying and fretting were in my blood.
There was another instance of such a reckless, devil-may-care attitude at that same job. This time, it was uttered by a volunteer at the nursing home. She was an older woman who came in to help with activities from time to time. She was delightful and charming, and I loved her ease with the residents. I remember her telling the residents that she once heard a strange noise coming from somewhere when she was driving her car. OK, this is where the terrible trio, Worry, Panic & Fret, would appear if this happened to me. My first thought would be that something horrible was wrong with my car, and I was going to go careening off of the road, certain to meet my doom.
But do you know what she said she did when she heard the noise? She turned up the radio so she wouldn’t hear it anymore! And she laughed as she said it! Did she not know that was a time to freak out? Uh! Some people and their calm approach to life! It’s so annoying!
All right, so those things happened around 40 years ago. I’ve come a long way (baby) since then. I no longer automatically jump to, “We’re all gonna die!” if I stub my toe. But my inner self still likes to try to get me to worry way too much.
Here’s the thing: There are always going to be problems. Sometimes they are big—nay, huge—and sometimes they are smaller. Sometimes, they come one after the other until you feel overwhelmed. I will not tell you to “put on a happy face” or “let a smile be your umbrella.” I know some of you are facing really big things. Much bigger than a noise in your car. Jesus Himself told us in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In this world, you will have trouble—problems. Oh, come on, Jesus! We don’t like that! We want peace and love and, yes, rock and roll without any of the bad stuff! Pardon? That’s how God made the world in the first place? It was like that once? And we messed it up? Forgive me, Jesus, for interrupting, but that was Adam and Eve, not me. I did not go anywhere near that tree! Excuse me? Did I read the last part of that verse, You ask? Do You mean the part that says, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”? Yes, that does help. Oh, and I should also look up Matthew 11:28-30? OK, it says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Oh. Yeah. That is comforting. Thank You, Jesus.
Problems are meant to be solved. We are going to have them. Left to my own devices, I will jump to worry and panic. But worry and panic are not helpers. Pardon my French, but they suck—they will suck the life right out of you. Don’t let them. Find something, or better yet, Someone who will breathe life into you instead.
Written with love – – – Patti XOXO
“Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution.
If you don’t have any problems,
you don’t get any seeds.”
Norman Vincent Peale