The problem has troubled mankind for centuries.  How do you catch butterflies and dragonflies and still look cool?  On this day I set out to solve this age old dilemma.  This dragonfly first caught my eye about 100 yards up the hill.  I quickly find myself a few feet from him and getting closer by the second.  Slowly I inch my way nearer until just about the time I begin to take his picture he vanishes.  Luckily I was able to follow in the general direction of his flight and swiftly I find myself beginning to squeeze the shutter once again. 

        I was able to take the shot and to my surprise when I examined the result in the display of the camera, I had failed to capture an image of my dragonfly.  Frustrated, I look up from the camera and guess who was hovering at eye level with a big fat grin stretched across his face; Mr. Dragonfly.  The race is on now; over fallen trees and a small creek I chase after my elusive friend (It was about this point in the race I thought I could hear someone yell, Run Forest, I mean Ricky, run).  I decide to have pity on my poor defenseless friend and collapse next to this cactus for a rest.  And just about the time my breathing approaches normal guess who lands on the cactus and surrenders.

        I photograph Mr. Dragonfly until I tire and he patiently poses just like any defeated foe.  And as I look at this scene once again I watch as he transforms the cactus into a launching pad and blasts off into the wild blue yonder.  He had turned an obstacle into a starting point for another adventure.  And then it hits me, that is what I should to when I’m faced with difficulties and problems.  I can either allow the problems to become a thorn in my side or I can view them as opportunities to grow stronger and learn new skills. 

        Often we grow in strength in proportion to the obstacles we face and what seems a hindrance becomes a way; what seems an obstacle becomes a door; and what seems a misfit becomes a cornerstone in our lives.  Obstacles in the pathway of the weak become stepping-stones in the pathway of the strong.  Let us never fear to undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good.  Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.  The most magnificent opportunities come into our lives disguised as problems.  Happiness is a choice; choose to benefit from your difficulties.

Something to think about:

• Never think you could do something better if only you had a different lot and sphere assigned you. What you call hindrances, obstacles, discouragements, are probably opportunities sent by the Master.

• Be thankful for your problems, for if they were less difficult, someone with less ability would have your job.

• If you are looking for the meaning of life, it may be found in the trouble the Lord is sending your way.

• A good way to forget your troubles is to help others to forget theirs.

• It is not the load that breaks you down; it is the way you carry it.

• When the way seems blocked, use the blocks to climb on.

• If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably does not lead anywhere.

Thankful for those problems that have helped me
Rickey Moore