Dealing With Life Challenges

Life, I have finally accepted, is full of never-ending challenges such as theft, injuries, conflicts, criticism, rejections, sicknesses, discouragements, career setbacks, technologies problems - just to mention but a few. And no one is immune to the challenges that life throws at people. Not even the rich, famous and beautiful.

Personally, I have faced more challenges than I care to remember. I have been spoken to rudely, been treated with contempt and suspicion, have had my property stolen, been sick and depressed, have wallowed in guilt and bitterness as well as gone through some pretty bad days - those days when all I have felt like doing is sleeping.

Challenge-filled though my life has been, I have been lucky that I am yet to encounter such heart-rending challenges as being diagnosed with a terminal illness or losing a loved one. But whether I like it or not, those are challenges I will eventually have to grapple with in the future because it is a fact of life that we all die in the end.

Of course there are heart-breaking challenges that I am hoping to never go through like divorce, siring an unwanted child, losing a job when I have a family to raise or having a rebellious child turn to drugs and alcoholism. I will avoid those challenges by practising the wisdom espoused in the Bible.

Perhaps due to the challenges I have faced, I have come to be deeply interested in other people's problems. If I may borrow the words of Bill Clinton, I have wanted to know, understand and feel the problems people go through.

Several months ago for instance, I came across in a newspaper the story of a Kenyan woman who had one of her hands amputated to curb the spread of cancer to the rest of her body. I could feel her misery as I imagined the things she would be unable to do without one hand. If, for example, she ever enjoyed writing and playing the piano as much as I do, then she had to kiss those hobbies goodbye.

Then about a month ago, I read in an old Reader's Digest magazine another story of a white American girl who developed a rare genetic disorder that disfigured her face. The disorder caused one of her eyes to sink into its socket and her lips to curve in a way that made her appear like she was frowning all the time. That made her a target for bullies at school.

And then there are those not-so-spoken stories of teen girls who become pregnant when they are too young to raise a child. Some of them are impregnated while going out on a razzle with their friends; others as a result of rape and sexual assault. If you are one such girl, I can feel your worry as you contemplate what to do with the foetus growing in your womb.

Such is life: encountering one challenge after another. Interestingly, some people - especially those from privileged backgrounds - don't know how to deal with the curveballs that life throws at us. Others claim to be walking in the truth, only to sink into depression at the first slight encounter with such minor setbacks as rejection and criticism.

As for me, I have to admit turning to sleep and adult clips as a form of relief from challenges I have faced. I am now being forced to retrain my mind to turn to God for comfort and guidance since the Bible says that "the Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble; He cares for those who trust in Him." (Nahum 1:7)

My beloved reader, I exhort you to also come up with your own mechanisms of dealing with the challenges life throws at us. Maybe you can find a hobby to do as a way of letting off steam. And if you believe in God like I do, I encourage you to seek His help through prayers. Adieu!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on dealing with life's challenges, you might also enjoy another one titled "When Bad Things Happen".