Last night, as I was falling asleep on the couch, I received a call from one of my tenants that sewage was backing up in the bathroom and toilet. The apartment building has a main sewer line for all units and when that sewage line gets a block, it sends all the sewage seeping up into the bathtubs and toilets of the downstairs apartments. Fortunately, I’ve had to deal with this before and knew exactly what was going on. I got on the phone and arranged for some guys to come snake the main sewage line to remove the blockage.

I was able to make the necessary arrangements and get things moving on the repairs. Unfortunately, it was late on a Sunday evening so I had to pay double or triple rates to get the guys out there. I knew that if I did not do that, I would have bigger problems in the morning when everyone was trying to take their showers before work.

I got into my truck to head to the apartment building to meet the repair guys and opened my garage. Nothing. I pressed the button in my truck again, nothing. I get out to look and the garage door spring was completely broken. I had to open the (extremely heavy) garage door by hand without the spring so I could get my truck out and keep things going.

Life is never easy… My grandpa always used to say, “if it was easy anyone could do it!” He instilled within me the perspective of looking at these obstacles as challenges to be overcome instead of a roadblock that I had no power to defeat.

The reality is, everything in life can be so overwhelming at some times. There is always one more thing to do, always the next step… Feels like I’m running on a hampster wheel sometimes! Then there are those things that come up that are entirely out of your control. The unpredictable, the unexpected, the important things that you must face and address head on. There is no avoiding it.

Living life well requires facing life on life’s terms and really pressing into the challenges. It’s out of that sense of resistance that our character is formed, shaped, refined, and polished. Avoiding or ignoring these challenges only keep me stuck right where I am with no ability to move farther. I have to address things one step at a time.

Life and the challenges life presents are not what matter. There is no avoiding them and to expect that we can is insanity. What really matters is what we do when those challenges are out in our path.

I choose to win. I choose to embrace the struggles before me as challenges to be overcome. I will win!

-joe