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HEALTH: Turn life’s challenges into opportunity for spiritual growth

Catherine Fenske
Staff Photo |

2“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.”

— Anthony Robbins

Every week when I put out the trash I say to myself, “I can’t believe it’s Tuesday already!” You can probably relate.



Time just seems to fly, especially here in this physical plane, reminding us of how brief our time here really is. If there is one thing I am adamant about, it’s that we need to use a portion, if not all, of each day devoted to our spiritual growth and development. We need to not let anything get in the way of the Divine purpose we’ve come here to fulfill which includes evolving spiritually.

Yes, you do have a Divine assignment … we all do. And the best way to know it is by making your spiritual development a priority. No one can do this for you, only you can set your intentions, heal your wounds, wade through your challenges and settle your grievances. You must take responsibility for the life you’ve been given and take all the learning, growing and healing you can from it.



There is great power and great peace in taking full ownership of your life and making the commitment to your spiritual growth. When you do, you will begin to see that every situation, circumstance, person and experience that comes into your life serves as an opportunity for your growth. Do you have an area in your life that is no longer serving you? Maybe you’ve made some bad choices in the past, stayed too long in a relationship that undermined your self-esteem, or gotten yourself into a heap of debt. These are examples of situations that may challenge you to make changes that feel overwhelming and scary.

But as challenging as they are or your particular circumstances may be, you must first take full responsibility for them. Only when you take full responsibility can you finally “own” your life, forgive yourself and move beyond your mistakes. If you are stuck in blame, victimhood or shame, you cannot see what your options are. But, when you start from a forgiven self, a clean slate, a place of ownership, you can view your situation as an opportunity to try something new and different.

For example, you may work full time and care for your elderly parents all while trying to run a household while your husband is constantly out on business trips. You are stressed and frustrated and feel hopeless about the situation. When you are in this state of mind, it’s really hard to be creative and come up with options. But when you change your perspective and see the situation as an opportunity to evolve and grow personally and spiritually, you realize you always have options. You realize you are never given a problem without a solution. You might decide to use this situation with your elderly parents as an opportunity to ask for and receive help from others, which you’ve always been reluctant to do before. This not only helps you, but it gives others an opportunity to serve as well.

The bonus in all this is that when you take responsibility and turn your challenges into opportunities for spiritual growth, the Universal forces will step in to assist you. For instance, information for getting help with your elderly parents will come to you in the most unexpected ways. This force will bring you exactly what you need to make the changes you desire.

Next time Tuesday rolls around again, ask yourself if you have taken full ownership of all your life experiences of the week. Then make a decision to look for all the options and opportunities for spiritual growth inherent in any challenges that may come your way by the next Tuesday!

Catherine Fenske is the owner of Live With Intention Coaching. She is spiritual counselor/teacher, certified life coach, Reiki master/teacher. Catherine can be reached at 970-640-6987 or email at catherine@livewithintentioncoaching.com. Visit http://www.livewithintentioncoaching.com or her blog at http://fromblocked2bliss.wordpress.com.


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