Have you ever exclaimed the words, I’m so frustrated?
The dictionary says FRUSTRATION is the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something.
We may have a vision of how things should be going that is just not lining up with reality, or there is something else that we’d rather be doing at this moment… anything other than what is actually before us. Our will and desires, run supreme but the impossibility of the current situation can be extremely painful to endure. So let’s take a look at it from a Catholic perspective; how did we get here, and how can we get through it.
First thing to do is see what is truly God’s will for this moment. If the situation was discerned earlier on and you are reasonably assured that it is indeed part of God’s will for your life then just because things have gotten tough, doesn’t mean it’s no longer God’s will and that you can now abandon it.
We know that we are to embrace our crosses. And we’ve always heard how we should be ‘offering’ things up in sacrifice. But what we don’t hear about are the consequences of not doing that. It’s not that we just don’t make progress in the spiritual life, but it can have real tangible effects on our day to day life, including immense anxiety and frustration. It’s akin to the Chinese Finger Trap, the more we pull and try to escape it, the more it entraps us.
Looked at it that way, the solution then becomes clear… detachment…accomplished by dying to self, and embracing God’s will. Which means stepping into obedience of the duty of the moment. What is the thing that you SHOULD be doing… do that! Easier said than done, right? How do we do this? Well, it’s not about merely toughening it out, or thinking happy thoughts. We’ve actually been given multiple treasures for living out such moments. We have the Sacraments as a source of grace, and the Church Triumphant as our helpers; Mary and the saints in heaven as well as our Guardian Angel.