What do you do when you're at the end of your rope?

Rita was angry at the world. She felt put upon, as if nothing was working out, and she didn't know what to do. She could continue to fret and stew, and then boil some more, but she knew that was impossible. That is, if she continued to live healthily and happily. Rita knew she had to come up with a solution to her troubles.

Rita didn't have just one problem. It seemed that everything she was trying to accomplish was going haywire. And she was angry -- so angry, and hurt, too.

"Not good," she told herself. To begin with, she had been working long and hard trying to get a book published. That project happened with few hang-ups, but when it came time to distribute the book, the warehouse had trouble getting it into the right channels. For a while, the book was listed as unavailable. What an unexpected dilemma! So, in trying to market the book, Rita grew more and more frustrated.

The next upheaval on her list of woes was the actions of the young boy, Jack, who lived with her. He had always been difficult to deal with, and as he grew older, he was becoming even more defiant and obstinate. Rita had always been the one to take care of most of his needs, and tried to steer Jack in the right direction in school and social life. Until recently Jack was, at least sometimes, relatively loving and appreciative. But now, Rita felt abandoned and unloved, even though he was still only 12 years old.

Then, on top of all that, Rita felt overwhelmed with her other activities. She had taken on extra work through trying to market her book -- things such as speaking engagements and keeping up her website. She absolutely loved doing presentations, writing and blogging, but something had to go. Rita had always loved to serve as a cantor at church, but she decided that, because of Jack's ill-tempered behavior, every Sunday before church, she would take a break from that ministry, temporarily. Jack seemed to always cause her to become upset right before she had to cantor. So although church was a priority, she decided to put the cantering on hold for a while.

As Rita sat wallowing in her unhappy state, she decided, to elevate her frame of mind, she would cut down on all unnecessary and stressful activities. She needed time to think -- to think of how to deal with the outbursts and insulting language of Jack -- not to take it personally. She had to believe he loved her, and this, too, would pass.

During Rita's emotional upheaval, she realized she didn't like weekends. Everybody was at home and she had no time to be alone to meditate and see things in their proper perspective. So, Rita decided to wait until Monday morning to make any lasting decisions. Everybody in the house was off and doing their own thing. Maybe she was just over-tired from having encountered an exhausting and stressful week.

Our emotions do get in the way, often, don't they? And you wonder how to get yourself back on track. What do YOU do?

Jesus offered solutions because the condition has always been a part of human nature. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest." Mark 10:27b says, "With God all things are possible."

You have to think before you act. Mark 6:31 quotes Jesus's words to the disciples when they were tired and possibly out of sorts. He said, "Come apart to a remote place and rest awhile." Sometimes that simple remedy for strained nerves and emotions is all you need. Rita tried the formula and found her circumstances were not half as bad as she had first anticipated. She went off by herself, had a cup of coffee, meditated and rested a while.