Tag Archives: frustration

Posted on

I Can’t Stand It, But I Can’t Change It. So What to Do?!

Well, as I write this I am eating some dark chocolate and sipping some cinnamon tea because that is what I do when I need to regroup emotionally. Why, you might ask, am I needing to regroup emotionally? Let me set the stage…

I am alone in my kitchen. I am listening to an instrumental collection of songs entitled “Peace”. I am humming along to Chris Rice playing “Like a River Glorious.” I am totally, thoroughly, completely soaking in the moment; quiet house, peaceful thoughts and the fragrance of cinnamon tea brewing. While the tea is brewing and my thoughts are hovering somewhere above planet earth, I walk out of my kitchen to get my favorite tea cup from the dining room. I walk directly into my kitchen wall.

Bang. Ouch!

Posted on

3 Things to Do With Your Frustration

A certain young teenage boy, who will remain nameless, sat on my couch — a victim of self-inflicted gloom.

He didn’t like his music lessons. In fact, he “hated” them!  Can you believe his mother, who also shall remain nameless, had the nerve to make him leave his phone and practice.


His instrument, which shall also remain nameless, was the one he was supposedly learning to play at the music lesson but, because he hated lessons, he didn’t like to practice. Because he didn’t practice, he was not very good at playing his instrument, so lessons were even more miserable. So, instead of just practicing, he slouched on the sofa, crest fallen, in utter frustration and despair.

Ah, what to do with such frustration?

Posted on

How Can I Possibly Rejoice in My Suffering?

Spill The Beans

Dear Jennifer,

I have been reading your book, Lessons I Learned in the Dark, and you say that one should rejoice in their suffering.  All I seem to do is get frustrated and depressed.  I have the same trials day in and day out–people making fun of me or dismissing me because they see I have a disability.

I feel that I always have to prove myself to everybody, even though I have become a success.  As you say in your book, I have become very independent, but I feel isolated.  I feel that socially; I have not experienced what others have experienced at my age.  I try to pray, but feel I make little progress.  Your book makes it seem this whole thing has been a pretty smooth ride for you, with a few bumps in the road, in which you are able to conquer most everything.

Thank you, Wendi

Jennifer’s Answer