Crises

Sirens are blaring. People are screaming. Gun fire sporadically punctures the air like thunder. Your best friend is lying across your knees, blood is spilling out of his chest. The only question that can be asked is "WHAT DO YOU DO?"

Would you weigh your options carefully and implement a plan justified by the situation? Or would you just freak out and scream like a baby who just had its thumbs ripped off?

Truth is, some people are vastly more equipped to handle crises than other people. If my first few sentences made your stomach turn and your thoughts freeze with "how terrible!" then it's quite likely you're missing the standard package of resolve to deal with such situations. 

But if you share whatever virtue that seems to be in me, your mind would immediately assess the situation and you would calmly and deliberately be able to take action. Keep your head, overcome, survive, save, whatever was required. 

Personally, even though my personality and training makes me most adept at handling sticky situations, I would rather NOT deal with them. I don't know if everyone who is gifted like me shares the same sentiment. Perhaps there is some brave soul out there who THRIVES on the crisis moment. Maybe there's someone seeking to throw themself into the flames on a daily basis. Waiting for that perfect moment of unexpected tragedy. I guess this describes firefighters, EMTs and police officers... and even our service men but how many of them actually enjoy it to the point of hoping for it?

I hope few do. 

While I like the fact that IF something comes up, I can handle it, I would much rather see events happen according to a well oiled, predictable manner. Is that boring? Maybe. But when you have to deal with the consequences of the unexpected, boring becomes far preferable. I like taking risks, don't get me wrong. But risks don't always yield crises. And when you take a risk, you still make a conscious choice, you expect the outcome to be either good or bad. You're braced for the worst case scenario. When a crisis happens, you're not prepared, not braced, no choice. You face it or let it knock the wind out of you. 

Not a fan of being knocked down by circumstance. Maybe it's that fighting spirit that makes me so well equipped to deal with whatever life throws into the mix. 

Just a few weeks ago, I crashed my car. Walked away from it, joked with the officers at the scene, EMTs, bystanders. Handled. No biggie, everyone's alive and safe. Could have died. Sucks, car is gone. No problem, I'll just get another. The lesson I learned - Takes much, much more than a car accident at 55mph to knock me down. That and God is definitely protecting me. 

The other night, a girl at youth group tripped, smacked her forehead on a piano bench and got a huge gash under her eyebrow. This happened in the first 10 minutes of church... No problem. Get some napkins, get pressure on it. "Bad news, looks like you're going to live..." Called the parents. No worries. Twelve stitches later, she's alright. Church went on as normal once she left for the hospital. Life carried on. Crises are meant to be handled and then life goes back on track.

Why is it like this for me? I don't know. Does this tend to serve me well when theser events happen? Yes, and for that I'm grateful. I would have been out of luck if, at any time during these situations, I would have been the type of person to break down and cry from the overwhelming chaos and disruption of normality. 

Maybe I'm just suited to be in those situations. Maybe it's absolute normality that I can't handle well. 

What's the biggest crisis YOU'VE ever handled well?