The Choice Begins with Me
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| Choosing to change begins with you. |
An attractive young adult walked confidently into the courtroom. She turned to face the 57 year old vagrant who kidnapped and tormented her for nine months. Taking a deep breath, she said "I don’t have very much to say to you. I know exactly what you did and I know that you know what you did was wrong. You did it with a full knowledge. I want you to know that I have a wonderful life now, that no matter what you do, it will not affect me again. You took away nine months of my life that can never be returned. But in this life and in the next, you will have to be held responsible for those actions and I hope you are ready when the time comes." Taken from the Healer's Choice by Roger Allen
Pedophile Brian Mitchell kidnapped 14 year old Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom. He spent nine months brainwashing, raping, and hiding young Elizabeth before getting caught. Elizabeth had a choice. She could let those traumatic nine months define her as a victim and live defeated. Or, she could see the personal crisis as an opportunity to move forward and use it as a mission to help others. Today, Elizabeth Smart is an advocate for other young kidnapped children and their families.
Losing a job, financial hardship, addiction, a terminal illness, relational strife, an automobile wreck, death of a loved one are all examples of a personal crisis. Experiencing a crisis changes the day's normal routine and brings adversity.
How do you handle a personal crisis?
Are you taken off guard?
Is there space in your day for the unexpected?
Are you a rigid or a flexible person?
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If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
Proverbs 24:1
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"It is not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you." Motivational Speaker Zig Ziglar
Everyone
will experience a personal crisis if not today - one day. No one is
immune from life's trials. Your personal crisis may not make the news.
When you are in a crisis, examine your thinking and ask yourself, Am I
allowing this crisis to defeat me? What can I learn from this crisis?
Another
victim of abuse states, "to truly move beyond my past pain began with a
very intentional choice. I remember the day, more than 15 years ago,
that I made the decision to choose a different path. I stenciled a
small poster with a simple message that still hangs on my wall today.
It says “I choose hope. I choose healing. I choose joy. I choose
LIFE!'"
Written by Susan Buck, MA, LADC
susan@stages2change.com
susan@stages2change.com
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