Imagine with me a rather graphic picture of a fire on the third floor of a four-story building in the middle of a crowded city. Onlookers gather at the sight of the smoke belching out of the building.No fire trucks are on the site yet. Some are obviously concerned and are trying to convey their feelings and emotions, by encouraging those trapped on the top floor to hang on and wait patiently for the firemen to arrive.Others are voicing an amalgam of opinions and ideas from 'jump' from the rooftop, to 'glide' on the electric lines to safety. But all the messages being sent from below sound to those trapped above, as a harmonious discordance.

In the meanwhile, every second appears to be like hours, and the minutes like eternity itself. There is much chaos and mayhem above and below. Mothers hold on to their young as to shield them from the inevitable. Men standing looking like grasshoppers in the face of hopelessness and mounting powerlessness.It's more like a carnival spectacle minus the joy and pleasantry.

Somehow those who seem to be encouraging the trapped Families on top to jump, to sheer injury and even sure death, have increased in size and sound. You could hear them from five blocks away. They have managed to muffle the sound of the arriving fire trucks from the horizon. "Jump, jump, jump", they sing in unison.

It is as if they wish to see what death looks like in real life. They have had enough of reality TV; they want to see some people to move from life to death, from healthy to ruined health, from whole to fragmented, from intact to broken. 'Jump,' they scream at the top of their voices. And they seem to gain momentum.

From below, you could see lives hanging by a thread above. Hope seems to be fading away with each passing second. The men who are part of the unfortunate trapped feel emasculated.They seem ready to jump. The women are calling for patience and prayer; the children are torn between their parents. All are anxious.

Now, come along with me from this hypothetical fiery situation to the present reality which we all face as persons in America, and as a nation. There is fracas on Wall Street and the aftershocks are being felt the world over. Even the healthiest economy on the African Continent, South Africa is feeling the effect of the financial earthquake, 13,000 kilometers away.

The reports on National Public Radio in the morning and at dinner time do not seem to convey great hope. Yet they do not opine on the news. They just report it. Last month's loss of employment parallels only that of twenty five years ago. A total of 656,000 Americans have been stripped of their rights to earn a paycheck in one month. Over half a million of dreams have been shattered in thirty days. So many June weddings will have to be postponed, so many summer cruises will be grounded! So many …

Is it time to push the red panic button? Is it time to throw the towel and scream "Jump" to those who are hanging on a thread? Is it, I say, time to become depressed, despondent, and disillusioned? The answer is unequivocally and resoundingly 'No.'

For every crisis there is an opportunity looming in the horizon, even lurking nearby. How many good meals have been borne out of leftovers? How many untold breakthroughs came out of times of crises and economic fragility? We need to remain grounded and settled in the truth that God will not abandon God's people in the midst of despair and despondency. We have been endowed with gifts and graces; it's high time to use them for ourselves and the betterment of others.

Many who are now part of the growing throng of the unemployed are enrolled in community colleges. Others are seeking ways to better their lives by changing with the changing economy. They refuse to be blind to the opportunity that comes with every crisis.

For sure, dreams are being shattered, but lives will be rebuilt stronger and firmer, for they have been through the fiery furnace of an economic downturn or depression. The future is our friend not our enemy. We ought to see it as such. We must remain creative in order to seize the right opportunities that this turbulent time brings. It is not time to 'jump.' We ought to close our ears to the 'nay' sayers who only see doom and gloom. They are invigorated by the orgy of negativity in the news. All they see is the here and now. They cannot envision the future.

Long ago, a sixteenth century nun, the mystic Theresa of Avila wrote a powerful prayer of exhortation to help others to remain steadfast and steady in the face of anxious times. He wrote: