There may be times in your marriage or life in general that you are struggling through a difficult period. This struggle may include obtaining help from medical professionals, or counselors. While going through the healing process, it often takes some time to see a real change in the situation.

Rather than get frustrated or hyper focus on the slow process, here is a great suggestion while you "hurry up and wait" for things to evolve to a better level. Try giving of yourself to others.

Distract Yourself With Service

You will be amazed at the joy and positive feelings you will have as you serve others. This does three things:

- It distracts you from your problems that you may be focusing too much of your time on.

- It helps you see that there are others who carry greater burdens than you are currently faced with.

- It will also be a great source of peace and comfort as you serve others.

Not everyone has the same amount of time, skills, or comfort level to walk into a soup kitchen and start helping serve dinner. However, with a little creativity, you will find an avalanche of opportunities in both your local community and nationwide.

Here are just a few ideas:

If you love animals, the humane society and local shelters are always looking for volunteers to help with their lost and stray animals. There are also many pet rescue groups that help foster animals until a suitable home can be found. Try going to this site for more ideas:

http://www.hsus.org

I am a BIG fan of supporting your local, State and National PTA. They provide so much more than cookies at parent meetings. Their efforts have changed laws, given more quality educational opportunities and help in many ways in your community. Go to the national web site to find out more and also how to contact your local unit:

http://www.pta.org

Any of you out there like to camp, or just help build skills in youth that will serve them their whole life? Try helping out in your local Boy or Girl Scout unit. They are also always looking for "experts" to help at their special day or week summer camps.

http://www.scouting.org/

You've all heard of the Big Brothers and Sisters. Well, you might be surprised at the joy that will come to you as you take a youth under your wing.

http://www.bbbsa.org/

In our area we have a GREAT need to have volunteers to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) or help with reading literacy skills. The neat thing about volunteering in this area is you don't need to speak a foreign language to teach these classes.

You will be amazed at the bonds that are formed as you help another become more self sufficient and confident. One great resource in our area is a non-profit organization called "Literacy Advance". See what's in your area:

http://www.famlit.org/

Whether you want to volunteer in a food pantry or soup kitchen over the holidays or on a regular basis. There is much to be said in helping meet the basic needs of our neighbors. Volunteering in this capacity will help you better appreciate your many blessings. To find a food pantry near you try:

http://www.secondharvest.org/

Okay all you sports fans, how about helping coach a little league or soccer team? More important than your coaching skills or knowledge is your ability to bring out the best in kids and let them know they count no matter what their skill level may be. Contact your local sports leagues or YMCA. They always need coaches who really care about kids.

http://www.ymca.net/

Let's not forget your local schools are looking for mentors and tutors for kids at high risk both educationally and emotionally. I guarantee that you will never be turned away from a local elementary school.

Some of the best volunteers at my kids elementary school are grandparents of some of the students. They bring with them a wealth of life experiences and wisdom. Whether you read to a class each week, help tutor kids, or volunteer in other capacities, you will find great rewards in helping the youth of today better prepare for tomorrow.

http://www.ngycp.org/

Hopefully, as you've read some of these ideas two things happened. First, you forgot about what was bothering you the most. Second, one of the suggestions peaked your interest or gave you an idea of where you may be able to serve.

Whether you are in a holding pattern waiting to work through some serious problems, or just trudging through life. Consider starting today to look for an opportunity to serve others. You will find that your burdens seem lighter as you help lift the burdens of others and your trudge through life will indeed evolve into an exciting journey.