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From flood to faith

September 16, 2014Mike SisselBlog1

1534862_10204668655424371_4267830827580079616_oLast week, the city of Phoenix (and surrounding areas) experienced the most rainfall in a 24-hour period since the early 1900’s.  The resulting floods were so bad that many school districts in the area decided to cancel school for the day.  Cars on the I-10, the major freeway that runs through Phoenix, were completely submerged in some areas.  Needless to say, the flood left its mark on the city.  Thankfully, it also left a mark on many hearts, including my own. 

Although my family managed to avoid any flood damage, our church family wasn’t as fortunate.  On Monday morning, several of the church staff arrived to find the entire sanctuary (800+ seats) submerged in murky water.  After the rains subsided, the damage was assessed and massive clean-up efforts continue to this day. 

On Wednesday night of that week, I had the great fortune of volunteering, along with a few hundred other people, in an effort to remove each of the seats.  Screwdriver in hand, I made my way around the sanctuary, looking to help in any way I could.  In what would normally be considered two hours of menial labor, this was an experience that continues to resonate in my heart. 

After the church service on Sunday, which was held in a separate part of the building, my daughter witnessed what was left of the sanctuary for the first time (see picture above).  When we got in the car to leave, she asked me, “Daddy, how could something bad like this happen to our church?”

In what ended up being a perfect teachable moment, here is what I shared with her.

God can use any experience (good or bad) to teach us how to love.  

Sometimes it takes setbacks to strip us to our core, which I believe is love.  Perhaps you remember the days following September 11, 2001?  Do you recall feeling closer to complete strangers than you ever had before?  I certainly do. 

As I was working in the sanctuary that night, the loving energy in the room was palpable.  You see, there were no pretenses about who was doing what or how many more chairs I was able to remove than another person; it was just pure, raw love.  Everyone in the room (many of whom were from different church denominations) was working for something bigger than themselves, and it was all fueled by love. 

Just around the corner of a tragedy is an opportunity for a triumph.

I explained to Emerson that there is no “rewind” button in life.  We can’t go back and change past events, tragedies or not.  What we can do; however, is adopt a triumphant mindset and move forward in faith.  It would have been easy for the church (and its members) to adopt a victim mentality and commiserate over the damage, but they used it as an opportunity to triumph.  Because of this mindset, the collective focus quickly shifted from flood to faith. 

We can’t control the weather, but we can learn to dance in the rain. 

As a native Oregonian, I’ve experienced my fair share of rain storms.  I will admit; however, that over the years I grew to complain quite a bit about the frequency of rain.  In many cases, I would allow it to affect my mood.  What I failed to realize is that I had absolutely no control over the rain, yet I had complete control over whether or not I chose to dance in it.  You see, we all have rainstorms in our lives.  The purpose of a storm is not to discourage us, but rather to encourage and strengthen us in preparation for future storms.  This is the essence of spiritual and emotional resilience.   

I invite you to apply these lessons to your own storms.  The storms themselves are inevitable, but the way you respond to them will always be your choice.  Choose powerfully. 

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Comments

Kristin Gragg Reply
September 17, 2014

Hi Mike,

That’s a wonderful story…… thank you for sharing!

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“The power of positivity is infectious and Mr. Sissel has a real gift of helping others believe that they have the mental strength within themselves to get past whatever they might be struggling with. We were introduced to Mike through Gold Medal Gymnastics and seeing the impact he has made on the lives of so many including our daughter is astounding. He helped her to overcome the feelings of insecurity, feeling bullied and showed her how to focus and 'change her lens' so that she could perform successfully.”

 

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“Mr. Sissel has been an incredible positive influence for my kids! Every time he goes to their school they look forward to learning something new from him! I have a teen and preteen and they have had him for the last several years and have quoted his lessons to us at home. Mr. Sissel has a special gift of teaching ALL ages with passion and dedication and truly knows how to connect with his audience, which makes it fun. I have also recommended him as one on one coaching for my dear friend’s son after she went through a divorce and her son was acting out and his insight truly helped her.”

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