We often go along day by day, thinking things will get better, only to be battered and bumped with some new problem.  We could be smothered by those instances or we can rise above them with God’s help.  Through the talents and abilities He’s given us, we can lift ourselves out of the pit of despair and get back on track.

I love the following story, which truly depicts what it is to keep on trying:

One day a farmer’s donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. He decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up, so it just wasn’t worth it to try to retrieve the donkey.

He invited his neighbors to come help him by shoveling dirt into the well. At first the donkey cried and wailed. Then, a few shovelfuls later, he quieted down completely.

The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded by what he saw. With every shovelful of dirt that hit his back, the donkey  would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt.

Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of all the neighbors. Life is going to shovel dirt on you.. The trick to getting out of the well is to not let it bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.

Author Unknown

When it looks like we are being covered and there is no way out of our misery, we can be confident that there is a way out.  Just shake it off and try again!