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"The turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever"; "an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person's life"; an unstable or crucial time amid one's routine life"; "a period of strain following the culmination of a period of big prosperity when forced liquidation occurs".

These are among the definitions of "crisis" in the Merriam Webster dictionary.

Based on these descriptions, each of one of us has a little story to tell for we are not strangers to it even if we do not welcome its presence when it comes unexpectedly.

The crisis that took my by storm came in the form of an illness. This is my story.

When illness strikes, it sweeps you off guard. You are caught unaware and unprepared. And then it knocks you cold. You come close to the edge - of a near-death experience as you realize you are totally helpless.

When this happens, God takes over completely. You are no longer in control. You simply let go and let God do things His way, instead of your usual fixated way of handling your daily life, your mundane concerns and all the people whose lives revolve around yours.

And then you begin to see, what perhaps you would have never seen had you gone on in what you thought when you were still in good health.

People, especially family and friends, whom you always take for granted, gravitate around you with unusual care, concern and gentleness. You learn to appreciate the value of your helpers who tend to your daily nitty-gritty needs.

You thank God for the resources to have doctors and medicines available to restore you to good health and life. You thank God for the little, daily progress your body is making each day; although slowly, the restoration to good health is surely on its way.

The time it takes to heal, however, stretches your threshold of patience. If you are accustomed to instant results and solutions, you begin to realize what 'process' means. Many lessons are learned each time 'the storm strikes' in any form or manner; when our lives suddenly change because we have been struck by a crisis.

If only we can open our hearts and minds, perhaps, this may be the best time to discover the gifts that God sends to us - even if we don't lie the way He wraps them for us.

God has His ways of making each one of us grow spiritually.

In the dead of the night, when you lie wide-awake and everyone around you sleeps, God, Himself, visits you. It is up to you to recognize His presence. He comes cloaked in mystery. But you are not afraid. You feel peace like you never felt it before. You experience a warm, loving presence beside you. It lingers tenderly, within you, around you.

In the utter stillness of the night, you are surrounded by what feels like a Healing Light. You experience a fresh surge of light permeating every cell, tissue and muscle, each fiber of your entire being. You feel so safe, secure and loved that you don't want the night to end. In the silence of the night, he whispers softly in your heart: "Do not be afraid, I am with you always. All shall be well."

Next time another storm comes around, stay calm. Be assured God is nearer than you think. He has reasons for delaying the healing or finding solutions to your crisis situation. But you can be certain that you are at the top of his priority list. It means that He will never fail you nor ever place you in a situation that is without His full support.

If our hearts accept and understand this promise, then crisis ceases from becoming a threat in our lives. Instead, crisis transforms into an arena where CHRIST IS amongst us - even as we struggle between good and evil, joy and sorrow, health and sickness, life and death.

Do not be afraid of death. Be more afraid of the un-lived file.

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