A Flickering Flame

Book excerpt: While reading this book and something unexpected happens, how would you respond? Who would you look to for help? There are a vast number of people stranded on life’s highway struggling for help to resolve the difficult crises they face day to day. The goal is to assist in a manner that enables them to endure with dignity and hope. Think of the many crises you have faced and where you would have ended up had someone not stopped and shared a helping hand. Crises can either bring out the best in us or the worse, depending on one’s ability to cope. A Flickering Flame is a metaphor suggesting that when unexpected events occur, the source of light is affected resulting in a flicker. Viewed through the physical lens during a storm or power surge, the lights might flicker. Similarly, in the emotional realm, severe losses leave people bereft of vital sources of emotional supplies and typically produce grieving reaction (flickering flames). There will be times when your light will flicker, but someone will show up to keep it aglow. Equipping and empowering congregational leaders is a model that produces creative strategies for caregiver intervention.