Resources

No doubt that the presence of hope leads to the feeling of peace.

And, a sense of peace is good, as fleeting as it can be at times.

Hope can be lost when there is a perception of a lack of resources to get to a resolution.

Resources are manifest in support from friends and family, a place to live, food to eat, reliable transportation, money...anything, really.

When these resources are insufficient, or unavailabe, where do you turn?

First, pray. For what you think you need. For a clearer picture of what God has planned for you. What you think you need is not necessarily what you REALLY need to get you to where He wants you to go. For guidance. For resolve.

Second, be patient. Patience is key. The resources are there, somewhere. You just haven't identified or found them...yet.

Third, be positive. Negative thought is an endless spiral into an abyss that can be more difficult to escape from than the problem itself.

Fourth, broaden your scope of perception. The resources to get you through whatever you are struggling against now could be right around the corner, or veiled behind something. Open up your mind to new possibilities.

Fifth, listen to advice, both solicited and unsolicited. One of the most beautiful ways that God has in place to help us through life is via the people HE places in our lives. Many times, even the situations we find ourselves in. This is one of the many ways in which He communicates with us. Respect that fact by at least listening, considering.

View of your problem through a telescope
 

Think of it as changing your scope from the view you see through your own eyes while looking ahead of you through a telescope....

View of your problem when the telescope is stowed

...to the view all around you when you stow that telescope, turn your head from side to side, maybe even turn your body in another direction. A panoramic view of life that encompasses all the possibilities.

Sixth, breathe. Another skill God endowed all of  us with. No one ever survived by holding his breath. Oxygen is critical; a life-giving element. Deprive the body and brain of oxygen, and the entire organism dies very quickly.

Resources are always available. But, like many things in life for most of us, they are not easily accessible. Not within our immediate reach.

The difficult part is that in a society that has been slowly conditioned towards immediate gratification, the concept of patience, of searching for a resource to satisfy our needs, is becoming an ability lost. When you cease to practice something, you eventually lose the ability to do it.

This works fine when you have at your fingertips every resource you need, especially those involved with simple day-to-day survival. The trick is how will you cope when even the basic needs (remember Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs?) are difficult to attain?

Good question...