Think Solutions…

Recently, we purchased a huge swing set from Costco. The Summit Vista to be exact. Raised high above the aisle in the store it was impressive to say the least. How much would the grandkids love this, we mused. Then it came time to load the boxes. Enter the first clue. Despite their foreboding weight, I still clung to the idea that the boxes contained large pieces of wood I could easily manage with a friend. I opened the boxes the next day with a resolute attitude that the job had to get done. Much to my horror, the boxes were filled with what seemed like hundreds of piece of wood, all requiring stamped number verification and all sharing the need to be pre-drilled. Oh my God! Did I have the time? No doubt. Did I have the mental capacity to handle the job? Not even close. A small nightstand has been known to send me into orbit. So, I did what any self-respecting consumer did. I found someone to come and do the job. I went with the lowest bid, then proceeded to fill my mind with how they were going to blow it or else reach some impasse or maybe inform me a crucial piece was missing. The assembly began the next day and, God bless them, they looked ready for the challenge. Later in the day upon returning from golf, I noticed the picture of the set I had was different from how the unit was being framed. All of my “incompetence” thoughts flooded to the surface. I reached out to the company as they were gone for the day and dutifully explained how everything would need to be disassembled. I pictured the worst. Despite their assurances that it was right, I continued to stew and worry and feel angry. Then my wife suggested we go outside and take one more look. Maybe we could make a video and show them all that was wrong needing repair. At my absolute shock, the picture my wife had of the unit was slightly different from the one I had. Different version. Who knew? And, just like that it dawned on me that I gave the better part of a day and night wrapped up in thoughts about how things wouldn’t work out. Yet here before me was a perfect framed outline of the set in the picture. Crisis averted. So my question is, what do you do when you are confronted with a problem? Do you waste your days consumed with worry or do you try and think of solutions? Think solutions…

As long as any of us remain fixated on a problem we have, we are not going to find the answer. The answer isn’t in the problem. The answer is in the solution. The problem is what you don’t want. The solution is what you do want. Thus, if the math was too fast (smile), when you dwell on your problem you art dwelling on what you do not want and the more you dwell on what you do not want, the longer it persists. It is only when you start dwelling on solutions, what you do want, that you are finally in the position to find your answer. The problem is the darkness. The solution is in the light. And, as I’m prone to quote, “Dwelling on the darkness won’t bring forth the light.” Sometimes we are going about our problems all wrong. We think, foolishly, the more we rehearse the situation, the more likely we are to figure it out. But, for something to qualify as a “problem” it has already been identified as something we cannot solve, at least not yet. “Come on, come on, think!” “Why doesn’t this thing look like the picture?” Problem? Swing set assembled incorrectly. Solution? Wrong picture. You see, we cannot even begin to consider a solution as long as we remain entrenched in the problem. The darkness is incredibly good at manufacturing problems. Even its solutions are going to involve some pain. But, we fall short in acknowledging the limits of our perceptions. Often the false choices are A.) B.) and C.) and they all suck or cost too much. Yet the real solution costs us nothing other than a willingness to look beyond our own human perception. Real, lasting solutions are found in the light. Think solutions…

You can tell the difference between partnering with God and figuring out life on your own by whether or not you are willing to look for solutions. If you are alone in this thing, you are going to struggle. The problems that have stopped your life, halted you in your tracks, took the wind out of your sail, have done so because you aren’t smart enough or big enough to win the fight you are in on your own. Where do you think all the problems come from? Random chance? Bad luck? Generational curses? The problems you face today were carefully crafted to thwart you. They came from the darkness. You cannot defeat darkness by wrestling with it in the darkness. The darkness flees the moment you turn the light back on. Absent God, there is no light. The light in your life comes from God. Solutions and answers come from God. When you have a problem that has been stealing from your life and you have done your best to solve it to no avail, then it is time to get God involved. Don’t wait until it is your last resort. Save yourself some time and energy and get to Him today. It may sound odd and mystical to you today, but once you have tasted the light, the right answer, the real solution, the unraveling of the riddle, filling in all the missing pieces, then it will be clear. God is your solution. Think solutions. Think God.

The swing set isn’t done yet, but it looks like everything is going to be okay. Free yourself from the tyranny of the problem. Maybe you are just looking at the wrong picture.

Just some good thoughts…