Crisis Management – How to be Peaceful During Intense Struggles

I came across a story last week, and in a recent conversation with a friend, it came up again.

It is a story that has been told (better than I am about to relate it now), but I believe that it is worth repeating over and over again until the message in it sinks in.

Team Hoyt is a father-son team that competed in 1130 endurance events, including 257 triathlons^[1] and 72 marathons.

On its own, this a mind-blowing achievement. But what makes this even more sensational is the fact that Rick Hoyt, the son, was born with cerebral palsy, a condition that left him with a limited control of his body.

Nevertheless, Rick’s passion got stirred by his desire to take part in a charity run for an athlete in his school who had become paralyzed. His request moved Dick, his dad, to begin training so they could run the race together.

In case you have not realized it by now, there was no way for Rick to take part in the race in his condition.

But they did take part, and at the end of the race, describing how he felt, Rick said, “…when I am running it feels like my disability disappears”.

As my friend and I reminisced on this story, we realized how much this story speaks to us about our attitude during challenging moments.

Some people go through issues in life, and when they get through it, they look every bit like the struggle they endured. Yet others face similar struggles, but they come out gracefully.

What is the difference?

The story of Team Hoyt teaches an incredible lesson about the challenges in life.

Dick was more than willing to go through the grueling hours of training and the physical exertion of all the 1130 endurance events because it empowered his son.

Watching a video of Dick competing with his son deeply moved me. During the race, I saw the excitement and passion on Rick’s face. His face radiated joy.

And then the camera showed Dick’s face. In that image, you could see the toll it took on Dick to get himself and Rick past the finish line.

“Having God by our side during crises means that we get through the experience relatively unscathed…”

When we go through challenges, we often get down and dirty. We grit our teeth and muscle through the pain of the experience.

When we eventually get to the other side, we look just as exhausted as Dick at the end of the race.

Having a Father in heaven makes all the difference. He pulls us through troubled waters and carries us onto the safe shore.

When life demands that we run, He is behind us lending a hand, and when the pace gets too fast to run, He holds us in front and rides us to the end.

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So, we arrive at the finish line of our troubles, and we have not even broken a sweat because He took the heat for us.

Having God by our side during crises means that we get through the experience relatively unscathed, but when we choose to do it on our own, we feel every second of it.

Why not commit yourself to the heavenly Father, as unto a faithful Creator?

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1 – A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances (distances: swim – 1.5km; cycle – 40km; run – 10km).

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