How do you deal with daily crises? Mine seem to cluster around my computer, which affects my writing.

Any day now, I’m expecting a friendly response from the Apple folk: “Oh, hi, Ellie. How’s it going? What’s your issue today?”

I recently went through two levels of their techies, and even an operating-system upgrade didn’t fix it. The problems are seldom simple, and I find it unnerving when a techie says, “This is really odd!”

One day, my multiplying issues involved Apple, Microsoft, and Google Chrome. The following day, a second-tier Microsoft tech did a screen-share and fixed that one! I am grateful for these servants.

My golden rule is to remain calm, polite, and appreciative. One techie whose English was difficult to understand got a little testy with me. But at the end of our conversation, he said, “God bless you.”

Every day, every crisis, I say, “Why, Lord? What do I need to learn here?” Then I try to focus on two things:

• God loves me.
• He desires for me to love Him—totally, in all circumstances.

I am reading—for the second time—a small book, Surrender to Love by David Benner. It underscores these points—in neon. Life often gets annoying, but the God who loves is even more elemental than the God who saves.

What is your crisis du jour? Wallow in God’s love.

That sure beats emotional meltdowns. And yes, I have those, too!

Ellie Gustafson

Ellie Gustafson began thinking up stories at a young age but did not write or publish until 1978. A graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois, she was active in church life as a minister’s wife, musician, writer, and encourager. Throw in gardening, house construction, and tree farming as splashes of color and humor, and you have the makings of good fiction. Through the undeniable power of story, she wants to make the Bible understandable and relevant for today’s readers.

An Unpresentable Glory