Coping with Crisis

Coping with Crisis – Why Me?
Do you find yourself coping with crisis, not sure how you’re going to make it through today? I was no different. I kept asking, “Why me? Why was I picked for this crisis?” My daughter was seriously ill. Could I handle this? Could I be her stability through this difficult journey or would I fold under the intense pressure?

Let's face it; we live in a world where no one is exempt from hardship. But when it happens to you or me, it feels surreal. We feel vulnerable and don't know what to do. It feels as if we have lost all control, which is probably the scariest thing!

It was a week before Christmas when my six-year-old daughter Alexandra became ill with a stomach virus. It became increasingly obvious that it wasn’t a typical stomach virus so she was soon hospitalized. We later discovered that she had a combination of meningitis and encephalitis. These conditions resulted in profound hearing loss and an inability to walk.

Our lives changed. Our crisis had come.

We started on the long road to finding the right team of doctors, researching our best options, and working with specialists. It was no doubt a lot of work, but worth every minute. Gradually over the next year and with a lot of therapy, Alexandra learned to walk again! Cochlear implants have made hearing possible once again. Today, my daughter is thriving!

Coping with Crisis – Tips for the Journey
Are you coping with your own crisis? If so, I want you to know that it is possible to survive. I want to share some tools my family used that helped us through our crisis. May these tools help you through your journey as well:

• Tool 1: Faith. You don’t need to have completed some prerequisite checklist before you ask God for help. Whether you have had a relationship with God for years or if you’ve never talk with him before, God is there for you. You just have to ask for His help. Talk with God and give your fears to Him. Keep your mind open for God’s directions because it can come in many forms. I was praying for God to heal my daughter and let her hear again. He restored her hearing by using cochlear implants. I had never heard of this hearing device before, but God knew exactly what she needed!
  
  During my journey through crisis, I learned to trust that God is with me, guiding me to do whatever I need to do to create the best outcome for my daughter. I had to have faith. Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” That is what I had to do with my daughter’s situation. That is what we all have to do when our life hits a real low. We need to trust God to lead the way because anything is possible.
  
  
• Tool 2: Don't let “victim power” trap you. Being a victim has power and if you’re not careful, it can trap you in this nomad world where you are not really living. When a crisis hits you, wonderful people in your community come to help, which is so important and needed. Their support is essential, but as soon as possible, it is critical to get back to your regular routine. Don’t allow yourself to get trapped as a needy victim that gives up the authority to function in a healthy life.
  
  
• Tool 3: Find your new normal. In my family’s situation, part of our new normal is my daughter’s cochlear implants. We needed to adjust to that reality. If you think about it, life is forever changing, so why do we try to keep it the same? What we should really do is embrace the new normal around every turn in our life. That is what I call living!

Coping with Crisis – Find the Positive
Find the positive along the journey. I learned that my daughter is a hero and my son is a rock. We need to remember that God has a plan for each and every one of us and on our journey we need to ask God for help.

My prayer is that you will find healing as you faithfully walk this journey. I find hope in the Bible. Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). If you are feeling burdened beyond what you can carry, Jesus is waiting for you with arms wide open. Won’t you let him carry your load?