Have you ever experienced times when life seemed so hopeless that you felt like you were in a deep, dark hole and no matter how hard you tried or what you did you couldn’t climb out?

I have. I have actually spent a great deal of time in my hole.

Being in that hole is the scariest feeling imaginable. The air is heavy and you feel all alone; there is no one to help plan an escape strategy or offer rescue assistance.

When I was in my hole, I cried and tried to scratch and claw my way out. I pitied myself for falling into the hole and was envious of everyone above ground. I prayed and prayed and when I didn’t get the answer I wanted, I yelled at God for abandoning me.

One day as I was expressing my dissatisfaction to God, I came across this:

I asked God for strength to achieve success, He made me weak so that I could humbly learn to obey.

I asked for health to do so many important things, He made me infirm so that I could do better things.

I asked for wealth so that I could be happy, He gave me poverty so that I could be wise.

I asked for power so that people could value me, He gave me weakness so that I could know my need for God.

I asked for a friend so that I would not have to live alone, He gave me a heart so that I could love all my neighbors.

I asked for things that would brighten up my life, I received life so that I could brighten up things.

I received nothing that I asked for, but I got all that I had hoped for. Almost in spite of myself, my humbled prayers were answered. I am the most richly rewarded or all.

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been missing the point. I spent so much time clawing my way out of the hole, searching for a ladder, that I didn’t see the rope that had been given to me. I realized that just because I wasn’t getting what I wanted, didn’t mean I wasn’t getting what I needed.

I had to reevaluate the way I viewed my situation and circumstance. Instead of being sad over my loss or broken relationships, I realized that there was something I needed to learn, which is why I had to go through a particular experience. Once I looked at the events in my life differently and accepted them as blessings and lessons, no matter how painful, and not as punishment or the result of being unloved or inferior, I was able to find peace and use what was given to me to climb out of my hole.

I still fall into my hole from time to time, but it is usually for a brief period of time and I now know the way out.

As Wayne Dyer once said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

If you’re looking for a ladder to climb out of your hole, try changing your attitude and perception. Accept that you are being given a blessing for your growth and that everything is in perfect order according to a greater plan. You may be amazed at what happens!