“A faith that is tried by fire is a faith that can be trusted.”~Robin Luftig

How do we stay calm in a crisis? Life throws lots of surprises at us. Take the way frigid temps and snow changed everything this past few days. Plus, we all make foolish decisions we live to regret. But, a faith that is tried by fire is a faith that can be trusted, according to Robin Luftig. 

Robin came on Fireside Talk Radio because I wanted to hear what she learned from her near-death encounter with a brain tumor. 

After I read her book, God’s Best During Your Worst, I had questions. Lots of questions. I needed to talk to her myself. How do we stay calm in a crisis with all the challenges life dishes out? Not to mention our own silly mistakes (read: my own selfishness)? 

Silly Decisions We All Make

“We do make silly, silly decisions,” says Robin. She thinks back to a series of life-changing decisions she made as a young person. She was living with her dad after her parents divorced.

“I decided it was time that I take control of my life. I knew everything I needed to know.” She decided to get married at seventeen.

Whoa! Definitely not what I expected.

You’re gonna love Robin’s gentle spirit and the quiet, thoughtful way she answers all my questions. Talk about authentic! You’re in for a treat today. Find more from Robin and many more Fireside Talk Radio podcasts.  

Calm in Crises of Our Own Making

Of course, we’ve all make foolish decisions as young people. Looking back, there’s always something we wish we could do over. Most women can relate to the suffering Robin experienced as a result of her youthful mistake. (Find more on how trauma in our youth affects us for a long time.)

“The thought of that now just makes me shake,” she says. “That (decision) set me on a path that was devastating.” (Find more on healing after trauma.)

A Broken Process

“My whole process was broken. I was in control,” she says. “It was all about me. That set a standard I followed for many years. God had to save me from the gates of hell. To pull me back from that sense of control.”

Naturally, we can all relate. If there’s one thing the last week has taught me as I sit in my freezing house with no electricity and no water, it’s this. Clearly, I’m not in control. But I sure wanna be.

Worthy of God’s Love

Yep, Mother Nature whipped up a dollop of fluffy snow and the pioneer woman in me ran and hid under the blankets by the fireplace. Luckily, I made and ate a noteworthy supply of fat bombs to survive. Fortunately, David is a terrific and very funny companion in crisis. A nice calm-in-crisis balance to my panicky, let’s-fix-this-NOW mode.

I like the way Robin gets to the point when it comes to who is in control. 

“There is nothing any of us could do to make us worthy of God’s love. Conversely, there is nothing so bad that would make God not love us,” explains Robin. “That’s what my purpose in life is. To share that God’s love for us is not ABOUT us, but ABOUT Him!”

Wow! Does God really love me or not? Keep reading...