Naturally, when I find myself in such situations I can't wait to get out of them! I'm not a person who enjoys situations where the solutions don't seem to come quickly. An analogy came to me recently, which really helped me in this question of unresolved problems and tough situations.
It was an analogy of a pearl. Throughout history pearls have had great value. They have symbolized unblemished perfection, beauty, purity and great wealth. I began to think about how pearls come into being. They start out as an irritation -- perhaps a grain of sand -- to the oyster!
As a defense mechanism, and in fighting for survival, the oyster secretes a fluid to protect itself from the foreign object. This fluid forms around the irritant and eventually a pearl is formed over the irritant.
I think we can use this analogy to look at tough situations in our lives. We, too, can turn difficult situations into opportunities of great blessing for us.
How do we do this? One way could be by being grateful. In "Moments of Gratitude," a new little book of quotes about gratitude attributed to the American theologian, Mary Baker Eddy, the preface states "Gratitude, like love, transforms us."
Even in tough times, actively expressing gratitude can bring a multitude of blessings; it can expand our view, and broaden our expectations. Eddy writes, "Under the affliction in the very depths, stop and contemplate what you are grateful for." And, "remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee."
It can seem quite difficult to express any sense of gratitude during a troubling situation. In the past, when I've had tough situations to deal with, I've gotten really frustrated, because I don't how to get out of the problem.
But as I have turned to the divine Creator, in humility and gratitude, and really stayed with that attitude, things have been naturally resolved, without me doing what I call "manufacturing" a solution.
Now, I'm learning to trust the divine more and more, instead of totally freaking out, and I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to think about how God is going to resolve this situation.
Eddy again writes, "Trials are proofs of God's care." To me, this means we see proof of God's care in the midst of frustrating circumstances.
In the Bible, Jesus talks about the "pearl of great price." Could this "pearl of great price" be that victory over tough situations which have been overcome and transformed by great good?
Now, as Thanksgiving approaches, with an "attitude of gratitude," we can cultivate that expectancy of good, and we can express gratitude even before the situation is resolved because we can know, even at the onset of a problem, that this can be an opportunity which will impel us to grow spiritually and strengthen our trust in the divine whose motives for us are always for good. And we can have this attitude all year long!
originally published Sat, Nov 22, 2003
in The Ogden Standard Examiner