6 Keys to surviving your next crisis

The phone rang.  I was out working in the yard, enjoying my flowers, but I decided to run into the garage to grab it.  It was a friend in crisis calling for prayer, like many friends before her.  I found a quiet spot in the house to sit and fully listen to her story.  She had made a mistake on her taxes and potentially owed the government $13,000.  $13,000!  I did not know what to say, other than “Wow,” so I offered to pray for her.  And as I listened to Holy  Spirit and prayed for her, these keys for surviving a crisis emerged.

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“I’m sorry, God, but this is not what I ordered!”

I love good customer service.  Recently I was in Costco and I had left some ink cartridges for them to refill.  There was a miscommunication, and somehow my four ink cartridges were thrown away.  The technician insisted on “making it right.”  He sent me to the ink cartridge aisle and instructed me to choose new cartridges to replace the missing ones.  This was great customer service.

Customer ServiceImagine a customer service counter in heaven.  I’m sure that it is covered in gleaming gold, with nary a fingerprint to be seen on the counter.  Behind it stands glowing angels ready to assist customers.  And there are a lot of angels so we don’t have to stand in line for long!  There is soft praise music playing, candles for a welcoming ambiance, and an essential oil diffuser to perfume the room.  This customer service center wants to truly value and serve their customers.

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Your crushed spirit attracts God like a magnet

I was alone at Duke Children’s Hospital.  My 4 year old son had been whisked off to a private room and I was left alone with the nurse.  She delivered the devastating news that the colonoscopy had revealed that my son had Crohn’s Disease.  And then, in a moment that I will never forget, she went on to describe to me what his life would be like with this ravaging disease.  She described side effects of medications, how his appearance would be changed, and even how the hairs on his head would respond.  And then she handed me a little pamphlet and left me alone in the room.

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Duke Children’s Hospital

Tears flooded my eyes as the gravity of the diagnosis settled upon me.  My precious son.  My only son.  A devastating disease and a precarious future.

I was crushed.

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I almost made it through Harris Teeter without crying

I got out of the car, smiling and hopeful.  I faced the looming giant in front of me and determined that today I would not cry in that vast place.   I would not cry in front of John the produce manager.   I would not longingly look at the floor in the peanut butter aisle and want to curl up there in the fetal position.  I would not wish that the pharmacist was a therapist.  I would not end up crying with the cashier in the midst of checking out.  I faced the giant courageously like David faced Goliath.  I was determined that today I would not cry in Harris Teeter.

Harris_Teeter_Central_Avenue_CharlottePhoto Credit: Wikipedia

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