Long Problems

If you have life experience, and once we have lived as adults for some time, we all do, we experience what I will call “long problems”. They are situations which are not able to be resolved quickly, no matter what action is taken. They are unpalatable, painful circumstances that will not go away.   They may seem to occur without invitation. We wonder how we could have avoided them. And they cost us time, money, joy, freedom, peace, comfort, and all the things we equate with success. 
Others may or may not think our situation is our own fault, and judge us as stupid for allowing something like this to happen, but from my perspective, I am my own worst judge. Kicking myself mentally for making an error of judgement and not avoiding the issue.
As we mature we can see these things approaching and avoid some of them, but others still happen.
The media portrays successful people, those who do not have "long problems", or have overcome them. But I suspect most ordinary people have them. 
They are our crosses to carry, our thorns in the side.
We may or may not have caused them, but once they are present they are there for a long time, sometimes for life.
Occasionally we see a way out and gain hope of freedom, only for the door to cruelly close. And sometimes we exchange one long problem for a worse one, hence the saying “better the devil you know”.
But what I have not said is that God is with us in our long problems, even when we have caused them, even when we deserve them. He gives us some of them, for our sake.
He wants us to continue behaving as Christian’s in those circumstances, which includes gratitude, and prayer.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” Said by the man with a thorn in his side who prayed for relief but was granted only grace.
I say “only” because I must admit that grace at times, seems little, though really it is the full tsunami of God’s holy love. 
And there will be a day when all creation (including us) stops groaning under the strain of long problems. Until then,
Rejoice. Even in our sufferings, which produce, amongst other things, true hope.