"Now's a chance to show your quality"

[elizabethevangeline]

As I read the news reports out of SE Asia I wonder how I would hold up under such tragedy. One man who lost everything said "my life is over". Every so often the local news revisits the possibility of casatrophic earthquake in my region...sometimes I wish we would just have it and be done with it.

I've always been fascinated by stories of survival, of heroic deeds by average people, of doing right in face of evil, of hope in midst of hopelessness.

I think I question my "quality"...the strength of my will and character. Do I, or anyone I know, really have what it takes to face great trials in life? I know my weaknesses and tendancies in face of the normal difficulties in life. It's not heartening.

Would I curl up within myself and wish to die if my children were swept out to sea? Would I be too numb & helpless to care for them if we lived through it?

If Nazis overran my town, would I join the resistance, hide my jewish neighbors, or be a collaborator?

Would I "confess" my crimes to a communist regime and name others to save myself?

Would I become a person of vengence, mentally or emotionally shut-down, kill others or whore myself to survive?

Would I take on helplessness as an excuse to "look the other way" as others suffered?

Is it easier to deal with catastrophy on a larger scale, when everyone around you is affected, and "normal" life is universally changed? Or is it easier when your tragedy is "smaller"-more personal, like a drunk driver killing your best friend in an accident, and only your "normal" has changed?

Are natural disasters easier to face than the man-made circumstances?

Has anyone here been tested to the point of "showing your quality"?

Any comments?

(yeah, other than "this is depressing") :)

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

Well, everyone has had a certain amount of tragedy to deal with in their life, but mine is nothing compared to a large scale natural disaster. I have lost a grandparent to suicide, watched my grandmother die of a terrible disease (ALS), lost my childhood best friend to suicide, and lost a dear friend of mine about 2 yrs ago in a freakish, terrible accident that I still cannot talk about without crying. When I lived on my own, there were times when I didn't know how I would buy food. I lived through child abuse and some other things I don't talk about in mixed company.

All in all, I have hung on to Christ, and I believe that has been the only "Thing" to see me through. I have had some depression issues, but nothing all that extreme. Basically, no one knows how they will really handle tragedy until it comes. We just have to live each day loving God and loving others, and hope and pray for God's mercy should something like that ever happen.:crosseo:

[elizabethevangeline]

I think hanging on to Christ as the only way through crisis is a measure of character, a measure of the will to trust God.

My rambling questions reminded me of the phrase "these are the times that try men's souls". I think we expect certain level of personal trials and even then, many souls falter.

Turns out that phrase is from a Thomas Paine pamphlet that also says... “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot may, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

So many are the summer soldier/sunshine patriot in service of God. We don't know how to stand in crisis.

[Prawnik]

This is one of the reasons that the Orthodox Church teaches that we are judged based on our personal circumstances. It was relatively easy to go to one's grave as a believing Christian during 19th Century Russia, during a time of relative peace, and with an Orthodox Tsar sitting secure on his throne.

Doing the same during certain times in 20th century Russia took a bit more work. If some were weak, God knows why they were weak, and if they resisted, why they did so.

If a person dies, say, a Hindu - why were they not Christian? Because they knew nothing else? Because everyone else in their village was Hindu? Perhaps the only Christians they knew abused their trust? Perhaps because they equated Hinduism with Indian nationalism?

God will save whom He will.

Will not we, who know more, have more, and can do more, not be judged more harshly than those who knew not, had not, and could not do?

[elizabethevangeline]

Will not we, who know more, have more, and can do more, not be judged more harshly than those who knew not, had not, and could not do?
ahhh...and that is a scary thot. With all our knowledge, wealth, skills, freedoms, etc., I'm not sure we (generally, as a generation or as Americans) have depth of character to do "what we have to do" to stand up for righteousness, to face adversity as a people, let alone individually live out lives of faith despite despairing circumstances. It's not a modeled value as it once was.

I'm not sure many of us understand or recognize the mercy of God.

[Wiffey]

When life delivers its inevitable blows, we have no choice but to survive or die. We can either reject God in anger, or we turn to Him in desperation and rely on His mercy to see us through our darkest hours. When we turn to Him, He will ALWAYS give us the strength to get through one more hour...

[elizabethevangeline]

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. " 1 Cor. 10:13

That got me thru many a day with a newborn. :)

I've had such a relatively secure life that I'm pretty sure I must be a wimp, cause I haven't had to bear much.

[elizabethevangeline]

Well, I'm sure my choice of title stinks...not even a Tolkien fan showed up!

And I do have a tendancy to voice thoughts that can cause people to shy away, but am I really the only person who wonders about themselves, about being a faltering soul?

My thanks to GDE, Prawnik, and Wiffey! I appreciate your comments.

[Orthosdoxa]

Sorry, I didn't catch the Tolkien reference. :blush:

I thought you had some great thoughts, I just didn't know how to add to them. I know I'm weak and I fear to see how I'd react if circumstances got crazy.

[elizabethevangeline]

We've been watching Return of the King at my house...everything's Tolkien around here! :D

Yeah, fear. I seem to have some good response instincts in emergencies, can run off of adrenelin in a controlled way. But the long-term coping? I'm afraid I might be made of flimsy stuff.

Being present in my life has been a theme for the past couple of years...I want to learn to stay more involved mentally & emotionally...exercise those coping muscles in a healthy way. A book I read "When Life and Beliefs Collide" (Carolyn Custis James) discusses our need to really know God, have a solid foundation in our faith & theology, before hard times shake us.

[stillerfan]

A book I read "When Life and Beliefs Collide" (Carolyn Custis James) discusses our need to really know God, have a solid foundation in our faith & theology, before hard times shake us.

i'll have to look into that book. :)