According to the dictionary a problem is a situation, question or thing that causes difficulty, stress or doubt. Only when we recognize we have a problem will we be guided to the solutions. Let me share how life presented this reality.
In the beginning of December, my husband Jimmy went to plug in his truck so the block heater could keep the motor warm. He saw that the block heater cord was frayed close to the connector and needed to cut off about four inches of the cord. He added the connector back on to what was left leaving him in a situation where the cord now was too short to hang outside of his hood. After that, any time he plugged in or unplugged his truck he had to open his hood. His hands got pretty cold when he opened and closed the hood.
Now we can also experience unrest inside when loved ones around us are dealing with things that cause stress. Have you noticed that? There were days when it bothered me knowing his hands were getting cold and it seemed like he wasn’t taking care of the situation. I was aware unrest was inside in relation to what was happening around me.
Then one day he came into the house and was so excited to share he had a solution to his problem! He found a really short extension cord in the garage which he could plug one end into the block heater connector under the hood and the other end now was hanging outside. No more having to open and close his hood.
Through his excitement I could the lesson to be learned. We get problems first and then we’re guided through experiences in order to solve them. Sometimes solutions surface quickly and easily and sometimes they take days and days and even more days and we still can’t seem to find the solution needed for the actual problem to disappear.
Going back to the example with Jimmy…the extension cord he found in the garage had been laying around for years. He didn’t hang onto it because he was anticipating that he would need a short cord for his truck’s block heater in December 2022. That’s not how problems and solutions work. He had a problem first and then he began looking for a solution that worked for him. Let me add…he wasn’t looking for a solution that worked for both of us! I needed to be looking for my own solution to what was causing me to have unrest through his experiences.
Now think about the problems you’re experiencing in your life right now. Do you ever find yourself in a place where you wished you didn’t get any more problems? Are you resenting the fact that new problems keep surfacing even when you haven’t solved other ones?
Problems surface giving us an opportunity to learn and grow. Here is a section taken from my book, ‘Relatefully: How to gain greater relationships from the inside out.’ “Learning involves gaining wisdom and knowledge while growth takes place when you naturally learn through your experiences. Growth takes place in many ways. You grow in size and age to become an adult. You show signs of growth by becoming more independent or taking on more responsibilities. Growth happens whether you’re conscious of it or not and life is a journey filled with learning and growing. The most important learning has to do with what you learn about yourself.
Your life experiences are your greatest teachers offering you many unique opportunities for learning. You learn things like what you like and don’t like or what works and doesn’t work for you. You learn about things like your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and even your judgments. You even learn about your timing and the Divine timing. This concept of learning through experiences applies to anything and everything in your life.”
The Divine gives us our problems first and only then are we guided forward to find the solutions. In order to get through the difficulty, stress or doubt, there are times when we require the physical tools we have hanging around our homes, like extension cords, hammers and nails. Then there are times when we need non-physical tools, like prayers, mantras and healing practices in order to solve our problems and feel at peace inside.
I witnessed Jimmy move through the difficult challenges he had this past month and even saw the joy in his eyes when told me about his great solution. He wasn’t the only one who was learning and growing! When I questioned him about what he was and wasn’t doing, he let me know he was handling it himself. I knew I had to step back and be okay with him going through his own stuff (as you may know when you live with a partner it isn’t always easy to do 😊.) In the end I was reminded how perfectly the Divine orchestrates everything in our lives and the lives of those around us. When problems end so will our learning and growing.
Wherever you are on your journey, may you find what works for you…find your own truth…and you will always be guided to feel at peace inside.
Sheila Unique, Relationship Renovator, Medical Intuitive
