Monday, December 14, 2009

Thank You God for Giving Me Problems

I just finished reading an inspirational book “Play to Win, The Make a Difference Gameplan” by Tom Karbowski , a co-worker from Southern Indiana. In his book, he wrote the follow prayer, reprinted with his permission:

Thank you God for giving me problems.
When I am at work and get frustrated, thank you for giving me a job. There are many people who need employment and would welcome the opportunity to confront the challenges I face.


When my customers complain about problems, thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet the needs of others. My competitors would love to be in my shoes.

When I am frustrated with my career, thank you for allowing me to live in a country that has a vibrant economic system. I can always do something else or start my own company.

When I am unhappy about the pace of change in the world, thank you for allowing me to live during such incredibly exciting times. The possibilities for improvement are endless.

When I am exhausted because I have too many things to do, thank you for giving me such an interesting and full life.

And when I am annoyed with my spouse or children, thank you for giving me a loving family and for all the happy times when they make me laugh with joy.

When I am sick, thank you for allowing me to live in a country with such a wonderful health care system.

When I am unhappy with elected politicians, thank you for allowing me to live in a democratic society. I can change the future with the power of a vote.

When I do not understand something, thank you for giving me the ability to learn and the curiosity to search for a better way.

When my prayers go unanswered, thank you for providing me with patience until I understand your will.

And when I have a true problem, thank you for giving it to me. All problems present an opportunity for me to enhance my character and deepen my faith. When I resolve this problem, I will be a better person.

Becoming better problem solvers is part of the lean way. How we go about solving them is part method (scientific method) and part attitude (positive). Regardless of our opinions on politicians, our economic system, our health care system, our companies, our jobs, etc, even if we are currently facing money problems, loss of a job, family problems, etc, we all have the same choice that only we can make, are we going to face our problems with a positive attitude or a negative attitude?

3 comments:

Bruce Baker said...

Yep. When I was in the Marines we had a chaplain that would lead us in prayer for stronger backs not lighter burdens. Good stuff Mike.

Anonymous said...

Amen. That's great.

Anonymous said...

That was some good stuff! Thank you for sharing that. I lost a leg below the knee due to a Diabetes complications. God was with me through out the whole entire surgery and recovery. But the wait and delays on getting a prosthesis was tremendous. After 1 year and three months I have been without a leg and I have no wheel chair because I can't afford one. I use a "walker' so I have been hopping around all this time. Tomorrow, finally, I will be picking up my prosthesis and will be walking again since my surgery. I thank God for letting it take this long because And that is something that I never had before. This made me a stronger person. He taught me patience and at times I felt that he was testing me. It's graduating time around and I think I passed with flying colors.