Day 47: Crisis

When I think of the word, crisis, I tend to think of things of a global scale.  The hunger crisis.  An earthquake.  A flood. 

Or I think of personal tragedy.  The death of a child.  A terrible car accident.  Divorce.

Rarely do I think of small, seemingly insignificant events, that in the heat of the moment seem large, but in hindsight seem tiny and trivial.

For most of us, if we are lucky, we are never going to experience global crisis, or even incredibly serious personal tragedy.

So the crisis we know IS the day to day, seemingly insignificant trivial events.

But I would guess that strung together, it is the day to day crises that takes its toll on a family, a friendship, a marriage, a relationship.  They elevate our heart rate, our blood pressure, our cortisol levels, our adrenaline and our survival instincts.  Strung together, these small daily crises can become epic in our lives.

Enjoying the moments that are filled with laughter, therefore,  becomes all the more important. 

Cherishing the small victories,

laughing at our own mistakes and the mistakes of others,

and letting go of the stress of the crisis of the moment becomes critical.

All that to say, a rich, peaceful, abundant life will be filled with daily crisis.  It's what we do during the crisis and beyond that determines how epic the impact will be.  I find a big deep breath and the ability to laugh at myself keeps things small and in perspective. Usually. :)  And when that doesn't work, wine and chocolate help.

Acid Dump

I know that's a weird title. And for those of my friends with juvenile 7th grade minds, it has nothing to do with the bathroom! Acid dump is what I call a level of stress where all of a sudden, it's like a flip got switched and acid is literally dumped into your stomach. Suddenly, this "Oh my gosh my gut hurts" feeling comes over you. It is a physical pain in your gut that is related to stress of some sort. If you've ever overdrawn your checking account and you realize you wrote 12 checks the day before and they are all going to hit your bank at once and you're going to get charged $30 for every check, then you probably understand acid dump.

I don't really have a good reason for mine. I have a stressful job, but I'm not stressed out by it. My life is in a bit of disarray, but i'm not stressed out by it. Everyone is healthy (I'm still broken, but healing nicely). We can afford the things in life we need and even many things that we just want. My marriage is healthy. My kids are becoming awesome adults. Nothing really to feel stressed about. And yet, three times today it has happened. Acid Dump. Once was when I was thinking strategically about the future of this ministry God has called me to. Acid Dump. Once was when I got a phone call at 11:30 telling me what I had to have for a meeting at 2:00. Acid Dump. Three was when I got a phone call from someone I used to know in a former life, and would like to never hear from that person again. Acid Dump.

And here is what is weird. My times with God lately have been so good. So you'd think that would help me manage whatever is stressing me and causing Acid Dump. But as I think about even that, I heard this pastor say yesterday, that if you examine the life of Christ, He had these rich incredible times with God that were followed by times in the desert, feeling alone, being tempted, etc. Times that I think He would have had acid dump from. Except, except that He was always connected to the Father.

Al that to say, perhaps what I am feeling isn't stress caused by any one stressor, it is my time with God that is lacking. My pastor always says, "Prayer is the real work." I need to get to work.