Well, it happened this morning! I was going through the bill box and discovered an unpaid, and now overdue, bill. It was not a lot of money, though the late fee that would be added on would increase that amount. The problem for me was a huge sense of fear! I felt a little bit guilty. How could I have missed that one? Why didn't I looked more carefully through that box? I was also a little worried. What will happen to my credit score? Now, this was just a little crisis, but I was struck how fear in the form of guilt and worry sucked me right out of the present into the past (guilt) and the future (worry). This was not first time I had experienced that kind of time travel and I'm sure it won't be the last!

Behind every crisis is the temptation of fear. It is certainly true that the current economic crisis has resulted in a lot of fear. This fear has been encouraged by the media. Fear has the capacity to snatch us right out of the present and into either the past (guilt) or the future (worry) - often both at once! I find that I generally react to fear much the way a cat does to bathwater - flailing away with all the paws and claws at my disposal in an effort to make the crisis go away. When crises come, I can deny their reality or I can overreact in an effort to fix everything right away, often without stopping to figure out what the real problems are.

I'm in the middle of a sermon series based on the idea that the way to cope with a crisis is to "take charge of your life." This means that the choices we make in response to any crisis need to be our own. Even when the array of responses is limited, we need to choose how we respond and when we respond.

In the Bible, supernatural experiences such as the appearance of angels or the sudden appearance of the resurrected Jesus are generally accompanied by the message, "Don't be afraid." This is more than common sense or angelic sensitivity to the mere mortal experiencing what can be called a crisis. The learning is this: the ways we respond to crises holds tremendous opportunities for our growth and our happiness. It seems to me that the space created by any crisis is a spiritual space for us - a space in which we can meet God in one-to-one relationship.

This is not to say that crises are blessings. Danger, loss, and pain are real. Fear is a natural response of the desire to protect ourselves and our loved ones. But fear is only a step on the journey. In many ways, fear represents an entry way to the narrow gate, the winding road, that leads to life. Fear can be a signal that we are in significant holy space and that God is also present in that space and in that present moment. As we are able to move through that fear, we will find growth - a sense of abundance and blessing - on the journey.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.

--Jack Price

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