Funny you should write about this...today.
I've been buried by my circumstances: poor health, a struggling marriage, a daughter who is on the verge of leaving home, pain, and mental illness.  And I was slogging along in self pity, forgetting gratitude, feeling hopeless and desperate.
Today, I read an assortment of "random" blogs which were in my Google Reader...and each one of them revealed a new side of a point God was trying to make to me....Basically that my future is, in part, in my own hands.  And it is also in the hands of God.  God is more than able to turn the tide and bring hope to my darkness, but He is waiting on me to change my attitude and take some action.  While I'm not a proponet of "God helps those who help themselves,"  there is SOME truth to that statement. Perhaps you've heard the expressionn "God cannot steer a car that is standing still."
Anyway, that was my epiphany; both a prod and a reminder not to lose hope in a God who can do anything.  I wrote a blogpost about my discoveries.  See: http://cynthialottvogel.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-more-excuses.html--thanks for sharing your story with us, Kristen