Coping with Crises

One of my favorite quotes is from Randy Pausch's book, The Last Lecture. He says, "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand". This applies to life in so many ways, and especially to our discussion topic of family crises and stressors this week. My interpretation: We are in control of how we react to what life throws us. Brother Williams believes that how we respond to a situation defines it. I agree with him. He also gave five categories of how we felt afterwards based on our reaction. They are: "That stunk", "we managed", "it's okay now", "we are better off", and "thank you". The biggest stressor event I've faced happened this summer with my nephew passing away. My family could have grown bitter. We could have grown cold. We could have grown away from eachother. But we didn’t. I am inspired by how my brother and his wife did react. They turned to the Lord with humble hearts, which invited the rest of us to do the same. This crisis which could have very easily been a "that stunk" has turned into a "thank you" for me.