How can I have a kind of crisis?

This is a pretty easy question to answer. A "kind" is just a category. Like, when God told Noah to bring two of every kind of animal on the ark, He didn't mean one of every breed, like poodle, wolf, schipperke, and Australian shepherd. He just meant two dogs.

So a "kind" of crisis is just a category of crisis.

One kind would be your kids doing poorly in school. That could mean getting bad grades, talking back to the teacher, not getting up in time, or not earning enough credits to graduate. Of course, with so many kids stuck in the crazy hybrid of online and homeschooling right now, "doing poorly in school" could mean all of the above.

Another kind of crisis could be appliance failure. Maybe your ice machine broke and spilled water all over your hardwood floors. Maybe your oven element exploded right after you put in the tater tots for your small group dinner. Or maybe the spring on your garage door broke, sending wires flying, almost cutting off your leg. (The first two were mine; the second was a friend.)

Yet another kind of crisis could be car troubles. Like throwing a rod through your engine block while driving through nowhere eastern Colorado on the one day the temperature drops 40 degrees in an hour.

To have one or more crisis of the same kind in the same week may seem efficient, but you might want to rethink that. It's difficult enough when one kid won't get up in time for online school. To add another kid who would rather show off all her toys than listen to the teacher multiplies the stress. If your oven's dead, do you really want to have to replace your dishwasher, too? And, trust me, you do not want two cars at the garage at the same time.

Any of these would be enough to ruin your day, and honestly sometimes it can't be helped. That doesn't mean you have to be overwhelmed. If you have the mind of Christ, you will have the wisdom, perspective, and peace you need to get the crises taken care of without losing your cool.

You know, so you're ready for the next kind of crisis.

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