You Can Make Trouble Into Joy

Resilience. When I think of this word, I picture a window that doesn’t break when a ball is hit into it or a floor that doesn’t scratch when the kitchen chair is slid across. It is a word that doesn’t deny that life is rough but implies the ability to bounce back. The difficult question is how do you become resilient. 

I believe that the key to resilience is having stored up resources.

I was in Boulder, CO and after climbing Bear Mountain I decided to take anther hike to Royal Arch. I brought very little food with me and ate close to nothing that day. On the way to the Arch I bonked. To bonk is a term used by runners and hikers which describes becoming suddenly and extremely fatigued. I couldn’t go on. People who passed me could tell something was wrong and expressed their concern. I had no available blood sugar. Thankfully I had a Cliff Bar in my pack. After eating the bar and a long break my energy revived. The loss of blood sugar would have been worse had I not had the resource of the energy bar. A circumstance without options can truly be hopeless. It is changes in circumstance that requires resilience.

Sometimes we look forward to change and other times change washes over us with great grief. When things change for the worse you need options. Options are the fruit of resources. If you are stuck on the side of the road in the winter far from any town you have found yourself with a change in circumstances that can become seriously dangerous in a short time. What are the key resources that can turn this around? A working cell phone to call for help is a good start. A roadside assistance policy gives a lot of hope. If you are able to go to your trunk and get your emergency blanket wrapped around you and light a candle in the car your chances of survival are great. These are all relatively simple resources which give you options.

When something happens which you consider bad, the first thing you should do is consider all of your available options. Having options gives you hope. Having hope is the key to emotional stability and joy.

Resilience is the stability and joy created by hope in a secure resource.

We all want a degree of stability and huge amounts of joy. The way to achieve this is by developing your resources in every area of life. Here is a list of the areas of life. Make a plan for the ways you will grow your resources in each area. The areas are Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Financial, Family, Social, Intellectual, Hobbies, and Vocation.

You have faith that growth in each of these areas will increase that amount of love that you receive from others and will also increase your ability to love. When change and struggles present themselves you have hope because you know that resources give you many options and you will not be stuck and overcome. This hope gives you joy and energizes you to love even more.

When people get married a section of scripture from 1 Corinthians chapter 13 is often read. This is the love chapter and it ends saying “faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” This is more relevant than any newlywed realizes. Life is about to bring the newly married couple many challenges and the way to manage them is through faith, hope, and love. If they do this their marriage will be resilient. If we all live our lives with faith, hope, and love we will achieve resilience.Resilience is the stability and joy created by hope in a secure resource.