When I was in seventh grade, my family went on a vacation. While we were out of town, we asked our family friends to take care of the family dog, Daisy, at their home.

When we arrived home after the vacation, my parents checked the answering machine. I was standing nearby.

“Hi Cheryl. I’m not sure how to say this, but we… well, we can’t find Daisy. We’ve looked all over for her for hours, but we have no idea where she is. I am sooooo sorry.”

My parents listened to the message again. “We can’t find Daisy.” The words hung in the air.

Our family dog — missing?! It can’t be. There’s just no way.

Author Andy Andrews shares a powerful concept he learned from his mentor, Jones —

Every one of us is always in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or headed for a crisis.

With that in mind, we were apparently headed for a crisis on our vacation, and suddenly we were in the middle of a crisis when we came back.

It was quiet for a moment, except for the noise of the answering machine cassette tape turning.

We didn’t know what to say.

The answering machine automatically began playing the next message — an unwelcome disturbance to the density of the moment.

It was another family friend. One we hadn’t hung out with in a couple of years.

“Hey Cheryl! So, um… we have your dog Daisy! I’m not sure why, but she just showed up on our doorstep. And she’s wearing a long leash with tire marks on it. Figured you would want to know!”

Silence again. There was so much emotion and information to process! What an odd day.

Within a few minutes, we had gone through all three phases of life: from headed for a crisis, to in a crisis, to coming out of a crisis.

That was a quick one. Most are not that way. Many can linger for months before seeming to let up.

For transparency’s sake, I am just coming out of a crisis. Which means I’m headed for one soon. It’s weird to think of it that way.

Which phase are you in right now?