written by Jack Rolfe
Jack and his wife Lexie have 5 children and 15 grandchildren. They raised their family in Las Vegas, NV, and St. George, UT, and now live in Amman, Jordan, where they work as humanitarian service volunteers. They have a love and passion for helping others and enjoy doing that full-time as they work and serve in the Middle East.
Deeply Disappointed
Several years ago I coached a youth girls’ basketball club team that participated in the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) organization. The director of our club, Hadley, was a good friend of mine. We enjoyed working together running the club and coaching the girls. We had a great group and we were provided with many opportunities to participate in leagues, tournaments, camps, and so on.
At the beginning of one summer, Hadley signed our team up for a camp that was to be put on by the local university. He took care of registration and fees weeks in advance and we were all very excited. Unfortunately, one week before the camp was to be held, Hadley received notice that the camp was being canceled. No other teams had signed up to participate. Hadley brought the news to me, deeply disappointed and frustrated. My initial response was the same.
A Special Treat
After a few minutes, a thought came to mind. Surely we could turn this problem into an opportunity! I asked Hadley to consider calling the coach at the university. Perhaps her team would be willing to conduct a private camp solely for our team. Hadley made the call and in less than a day the coach came back with the answer of yes! Her team would treat our young girls to their very own camp!
The Moral of the Story
Russell M. Nelson once taught that ‘the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.’1 Learning that our camp had been canceled was a huge disappointment. We could have left it at that and moved on, but we chose instead to shift our perspective. Rather than dwelling on the challenge at hand, we took the time to try and make something good come of the situation. To focus on the positive. Because of that, we ended up participating in a camp that was even better than we could have imagined! And we found joy! The lesson learned? Every challenge we face can become an opportunity (blessing) or a problem (bother) … it’s our choice.
References
- Nelson RM. Joy and Spiritual Survival. Ensign. 2016;Nov:81-84.
