Life’s Unsolvables

Originally sent May 30, 2024

I have a vivid memory of running into one of my unsolvables a few years ago. It was rather shocking for me! Up until then I had lived in the land of eternal optimism where trying harder could fix just about any problem. I was resourceful, creative, hard working; and that was usually enough…until it wasn’t. I’d wake up in the middle of the night shaking my head and repeating the word, why, over and over (btw…this is a sure sign you have hit an unsolvable). Most of the people who come to see me have run into one of their unsolvables. Something they can’t fix or change or overcome. I find it a great privilege to listen and love. On my best days I try to ask good questions and share some of the hope and courage that I have found.

I love these words of Jesus as He prepared his friends for the unsolvables of life, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) No quick fix, easy answers, or simple steps. What Jesus offers is Himself: the way, the truth, and the life. Life’s unsolvables have a way of humbling us because we finally recognize we are going to need something or someone beyond ourselves. Life’s unsolvables also make us more honest with ourselves and more open to others. And if we let them, these unsolvables can be a beautiful gift.