I Tried Everything and Then Finally...

We hear this story all the time:

"I tried everything! And then finally..."

Finally, the solution is found.

Finally, the right diet and exercise plan kicks in.

Finally, your perfect partner arrives in your life.

Finally, the gate that seemed locked is opened.

And maybe part of us thinks,

"Jeez, if only I'd tried this sooner..."

But to me, the important part of the story is the first part:

I Tried Everything.

Yes, you did. You tried things and you kept trying and you kept showing up and you persisted even when you were so discouraged you couldn't even think straight. That's how a person gets to the "finally" part. By staying on the path and putting one foot in front of the other.

That's faith in action.

And for those of you who haven't gotten to the "finally" part of the story - oh, honey - I feel your pain.

Especially when everyone around you has such helpful suggestions. Suggestions like, "Oh, when you stop trying - that's when it will happen!" Really? Or, "You should try this thing that worked for me/my sister/my neighbor's best friend in Ohio." Really?

And maybe you're even thinking about giving up. And maybe you should.

Here's one way to get a reading on whether or not you should just give up: make a picture in your mind of you just setting down this burden. Imagine you just taking the whole heavy load and setting it down right there on the side of the road. Imagine taking a few steps down the road away from it.

How do you feel? Relieved?

Then maybe, sweetheart, it's time to set it down for now - not necessarily for always, but for now.

Or do you feel that welling up of spirit (your parents might have called it "stubbornness") that says, "I WILL find a way!" If that's so, then all righty. Pick your bundle up and walk on. And keep trying everything - even crazy things, even the thing that worked for that person in Ohio.

And someday - I guarantee it - you will be able to tell the story of your journey and say, "Well, I tried everything, and then finally..."

So tell me - what circumstance in your life had you trying everything? And what finally worked? Or are you still in it? What have you tried? What are you thinking of doing next?