I have long believed that the world is run by those who not only show up, but by those who show up with a problem-solving attitude. People show up for work, parenting, volunteering or any other human activity with a variety of attitudes – many of them with an attitude that whatever they are doing is drudgery (i.e., they’d rather be anywhere else doing almost anything else).

This attitude permeates the space around them and affects others negatively.

I’m aware that some folks are working in jobs that offer them no advancement and are repetitive and mundane.

I watched my father work as a letter carrier for 41 years of his life, detesting it almost every day. He did not see that he had any other opportunities, and he did not seek to rise up out of the job that he had. Carrying mail in the winters of Minnesota in the 1960s and 70s was brutal – no question. My dad never seemed to be able to muster a “can do” attitude to change his life for the better. However, he made a life so that my siblings and I could have more options to excel and for that I’m forever grateful.

It may have been my father’s example of what not to do and what kind of attitude not to adopt that led me to my life philosophy.

Whatever it was, it became clear to me in my careers that I would rather be part of the solution than continuing to be part of the problem.

One of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time, John Wooden, had this to say about how the right attitude leads us forward. He said, “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” In other words, look to the gifts that you have and use them to solve the problems that you can.

The blessed assurance that we have in being beloved children of God is that God has provided us with gifts that we can use to improve the common good. None of our gifts are the same, and our gifts need to be used together in community for them to be truly effective. If we get focused on all the reasons that we cannot do something, we negate the power that God has given us to do what we can. John Wesley (founder of Methodism) may have said these words which can help us develop that “can do” attitude that maximizes our gifts: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Mr. Wesley and his early colleagues did just that. They saw the need around them and visited the poor houses, widows and orphans, mental asylums, prisons, hospitals, workhouses, etc, of their day doing whatever they could to spread the message of God’s love and providing hope to people without much for which to hope. They taught school, provided meals, washed clothes, advocated for better living conditions for the poor, marginalized and imprisoned, worked to change laws for the better. They decided to do whatever they could to improve the common good.

We can do the very same. There are a lot of issues in Louisa County that need some fresh thinking and a “can do” attitude. Nothing is impossible, but many things are quite challenging. It is time to band together to accomplish more than any of us can do alone. Faith communities have always been places where people came together with an attitude that did not shy away from difficult or seemingly intractable problems. It’s time we work together for safe, warm, dry and affordable housing for everyone. It is time that we figured out how to provide safe, efficient, reliable and affordable transportation for all who need it. With the right attitude and God’s guidance, nothing is impossible. It’s time for the “can do” attitude to replace the status quo. May God bless our work together!

The Rev. Albrant is pastor of Mineral and Mount Pleasant United Methodist churches.