I really get frustrated when I'm talking to a friend or relative that doesn't understand their own emotions. It really 'grinds my gears' when people say things like, "I don't know why I love him/her" or "I don't know why I did/said that!" I know that there are SEVERAL unknowns in the world, but our own feelings shouldn't be one of them! We go through life making most of our choices based on thoughts, feelings and emotions that we haven't analyzed, and when some of those choices don't work out for our best interest, we blame it on the other factors that led to that choice, instead of considering that we should have been sure of how we really felt before moving forward in the first place.

Its as if we are all in such a hurry to DO SOMETHING that we don't take the time to truly evaluate ourselves! Are we in such a hurry to love someone, that we don't take the time to determine whether or not we are actually emotionally prepared to do so? Are we so desperate to BE loved, that we don't do the needed research on the candidates to determine if they are even capable to love us in the way that meets our needs? Are we lacking the time to figure out exactly what those needs are?!?! Or is it that we are comfortable dealing with all of these "X's" in our lives!!!???

In Algebra, we are given equations that contain the variable X. Usually, our instructions are to SOLVE for X. We solve for X to determine what the missing number is. This is important because Algebra, like most other disciplines in Mathematics, teaches us pure LOGIC. Logic is applicable in EVERY area of our lives, so this information is transferable to any situation we may encounter. When I was in high school at GHS, I didn't understand how this could be true. I remember complaining to Mr. Teague, and telling him, "I don't get how X times the price of bread, divided by whatever will ever make a difference for me!" But now I understand almost completely why I MUST truly comprehend this! I need this to learn LOGIC, and I need to understand it in order to APPLY LOGIC in my everyday life!

Its really easy, once you realize how it all fits together. You take your situation and make a rational expression...a logical sentence. Then you simplify that sentence by getting rid of all the similarities from both sides of the equation. This will leave the actual problem that you are attempting to solve. Then, you isolate your variable and solve the equation!In non-mathematical terms, you state the problem, then get to the bottom of it, thus revealing THE REAL PROBLEM! This is where the X, your unknown, will become obvious. Then you isolate the X, and solve your problem without it. When you are done with this, you WILL know EXACTLY what X really is! So, there is no need to proceed with your decision making with an UNKNOWN anywhere in the picture!

I know some of you may be thinking, "well, she isn't taking into account how important my feelings are, and that mathematical approach doesn't include that!" And in response to that, I say, "NAY!" It does indeed take into account your feelings! That's why there are so many variables in existence, not to even mention the RADICALS and EXPONENTS! The REAL PROBLEM here is that most of us are just too mentally lazy to go through what we already know we should. We allow our circumstances to drain us physically, and our bad relationships to deplete our patience and sometimes even our worth, and it hinders us from doing what we know is right. But, when you are hurting the next time, I want you to ask yourself if you could have logically predicted that it would have happened. I want you to sincerely respond...especially if you feel MORE pain before you can even pronounce your answer. That will be all the proof you need that I am right.

You see, failing to apply EVERYTHING we know to our lives to ensure our own growth and improvement is suicide. We are setting ourselves up for the struggle that is bound to come with doing things OUR OWN WAY. True, there is more than one way to skin a cat, but there is only ONE way to live righteously. Those of us who love, worship, and serve Jehovah are bound to doing things HIS way, and His way is organized. He has set forth a set of known rules (formulas) and if we follow them closely, we are destined to come out right. Those rules work in every situation, and guess what, Ladies and Gentlemen...those rules are LOGICAL! So, solve all the X's in your life.

God said "if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of me". So, if you don't know how to solve your equation, go to the Bible to find the 'formula' that God recommends for that situation! You can do it! And yes, it may be hard. Anything worth having is hard to get! But, for your own sake, SOLVE FOR X! No matter how many radicals, exponents, and variables there may be, there IS a solution, and you are worth the work it will take to find it! And when you find it, stand on your answer, make the indicated adjustments in your life, and move on to bigger and more difficult problems to solve...There is always something we can learn about ourselves, and there is always something we can improve! So, go on....Go, now...SOLVE FOR X!!!!!

Terralyn Banks Skinner