When It Feels Like the Sky Is Falling

Norman Wright H.

Description

I'll Never Forget That DayThe unexpected strikes each of us at some point in our lives. Those days when the sky feels as though it's closing in and our world is crumbling around us. A loved one dies... We survive a natural disaster... We witness a horrific event or act of terrorism. And we live in fear of what might happen as we step onto an airplane or watch as someone we love is admitted into the hospital. How can we best respond to such shock and grief? Is it possible to feel safe again or to make sense of life in the aftermath? Christian counselor H. Norman Wright has helped individuals cope in the wake of 9/11; Hurricane Katrina; the mass shootings at Aurora, Colorado and Las Vegas, Nevada; and other traumatic events. Here he offers compassionate guidance on facingand growing fromthe circumstances you fear most. You'll discover practical ways to prepare for the unexpected, and find a path to real hope and peaceeven in the midst of tragedy.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 04 septembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736974851
• Langue: English

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com . The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
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Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation in Today s English Version-Second Edition. Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
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Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, MN
Cover photos igor rotary / Fotolia
When It Feels Like the Sky Is Falling
Copyright 2018 H. Norman Wright
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-7484-4 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-7485-1 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wright, H. Norman, author.
Title: When it feels like the sky is falling / H. Norman Wright.
Description: Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018006853 (print) | LCCN 2018018023 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736974851 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736974844 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Suffering-Religious aspects-Christianity.
Classification: LCC BV4909 (ebook) | LCC BV4909 .W7595 2018 (print) | DDC 248.8/6-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018006853
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Contents

Introduction: Am I Really Safe?

1. Tremors in Our Life
2. The Unexpected-Inevitable
3. Colorado Springs
4. Bouncing Back
5. The Phases-They re Normal
6. Your Brain: Treat It Well
7. Terrorism
8. Tell Me Your Story
9. Steps to Take to Regain Control-Emotions Included
10. You, Your Family, and Survival
11. Biblical View of Suffering
12. You Can Live Fear-Free

Appendix: Resources for Help

Notes

Other Good Harvest House Reading by H. Norman Wright

About the Publisher
Introduction: Am I Really Safe?
I f you are like most people, you want your life to be stable and predictable. Surprises and the unexpected tend to disrupt our lives.
Unexpected events or, as some prefer the surprises of life , are decisive times in your life. They are turning points for better or worse, for undesirable or positive outcomes. Some expected events can be anticipated, but many cannot. The unexpected carries a certain degree of risk or even uncertainty. We all experience the unexpected. But now we have a new fear in our country-terrorism. These acts are intensifying in frequency and destruction.
Terrorism has been with the world around us for centuries. Its roots and practices came from the first-century zealots. Finally, it s arrived on our shores. And so now our country as we know it has changed. It s been invaded, not by a foreign army or swarms of biologically altered insects, but by something that is more deadly: terrorism. Those who employ terrorism intentionally use violence to unsettle us. It doesn t take many of them to disrupt our daily lives, dominate our thinking, and take away our sense of safety. They strike where we least suspect their presence. They plant the seeds of suspicion, paranoia, and fear.
We tense up when we board a plane or walk through the doors of a subway train.
We wonder about things we never thought of ten years ago. The phrase what if floods our mind.
When a terrorist attacks (and we can expect more), our lives are disrupted, not just for months, but for decades.
I ve seen the results of terrorism and walked through the chaos. Never in my lifetime did I expect to walk through the rubble of Ground Zero, nor sit with the survivors of the shootings in Aurora, Colorado Springs, San Bernardino, or Las Vegas. But I have heard the survivors stories. For some their life is changed forever.
LEARNING HOW TO RESPOND
This book is designed to help the reader handle the daily unexpected events and surprises as well as serious life-changing events. It will also help us handle and prepare for the present and future acts of terrorism. It will give practical and workable steps to use when an unexpected event occurs.
Whether the unexpected event was relatively minor or a devastating terrorist attack, no matter what happens, these kinds of occurrences share some common themes.
If the event was unexpected, the surprise element stuns and shocks. We feel dazed and disoriented. When the event is uncontrollable, and it s beyond our ability to change it, we feel powerless, vulnerable, and victimized.
Many events are unimaginable-the horrific elements are not familiar to our way of life. We have no frame of reference to make sense of what we witnessed. Many feel appalled and horrified. It s as if what was experienced was unreal. It was an event too strange to process. People saw but didn t comprehend what they were seeing, so the feelings of confusion and disorientation occur and intensify.
Some events, such as 9/11 and the various shootings that have happened in our country, seem unforgivable. The need to blame someone or something emerges. We wonder what we are to do with our anger, rage, and urge to punish. We feel powerless.
Since what occurred was unprecedented, there is no script to follow and so people feel directionless.
Almost all of us feel unprepared. After all, there s no reason to prepare ourselves for an unimaginable catastrophe. How can you prepare adequately? So defense mechanisms may be inadequate to handle the demand on our emotions. Overwhelmed is a common feeling.
Events such as what we talk about in this book leave a sense of uncertainty. We don t fully know the long-range effects on ourselves, our families, our jobs, our future, and the future of our children. There is a feeling of ambivalence and being torn between hope and fear.
The body and mind are overwhelmed. The faces of those who have been through trauma reflect the experiences above and beyond a person s ability to handle these events. I ve sat with many survivors, and some of them will be described later in this book.
There are very few resources that address the unexpected or surprises, especially in the form of terrorism. That is why this book is desperately needed.
As you learn to become a resilient survivor in the daily events, you will be better able to handle the major upsets, including acts of terrorism.
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
The 41-year-old director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee parked his car and headed for the building that housed his office. It was located in an upscale area of Orange County, California. The year was 1985, and terrorism had not yet reached the shores of our country, or so we thought.
This father of three small children usually brought his wife and youngest child with him to his office, but for some reason he left them home on this day. Twenty-one hours earlier he had appeared on a TV broadcast in which he criticized the media for some of their reporting. He also appeared as a pro-Arab spokesman on a CNN broadcast that was taped Thursday afternoon and had aired Thursday evening.
He took the stairs to his office on the second floor on Friday morning. He put his key into the lock, and as he opened the door, it triggered the release of an explosive device. The bomb went off, and the director suffered the full force of the blast. He was the first one in the office on that fateful day. His administrative assistant said she was the one who normally opened the office every morning, but Friday she was doing an errand for him before work. He usually didn t come in until 10 or so