Blossoming in times of hardship and depression with Dr. Crystal Lewis
Joining me on the show today is Dr. Crystal Lewis.
Dr. Crystal is a mentor, author, motivational speaker, singer and change agent. She’s also a minister in teen leadership programs and church events.
She’s passionate about helping people connect with God and pursue a purposeful life. Dr. Crystal uses Christianity as a tool to inspire and motivate all her readers and followers.
Her book, The Diamond Transformation - How to Survive and Thrive in Tough Times is an inspiring biography of her life in school and how she persevered through dark times in her life.
Dr. Crystal’s Life Journey
An introvert at heart, Dr. Crystal enjoys listening to women empowerment podcasts, karaoke singing, and journaling. All of which she finds therapeutic for herself when she’s drained as a result of work.
Life, however,hasn’t always been easy for Dr. Crystal.
About 9 years ago, she was accepted into Stony Brook University to pursue a PhD in Chemistry.
Everything was going great, and life was a roller coaster ride for Dr. Crystal.
All this took a sudden flip when a tornado hit the campus she was studying at forcing her to escape campus and seek refuge somewhere else.
During the chaos, Crystal lost a lot of important personal files and documents.
Her Naturalization certificate which proves her American citizenship was one of the documents she lost.
In order to claim her fellowship and scholarship, Crystal needed her original Naturalization certificate.
In the midst of trying to find a solution for her problem, Crystal found herself drowning in despair and hopelessness. Everyone she turned to for help turned her down.
It was during this dark period of her life that Crystal had a conversation with God and wondered if He still had a purpose for her amidst all the darkness she was in.
Thankfully for Crystal, He did.
God wanted her to know that He had set a diamond in her which He was soon about to unleash. And this was the reason God was putting her through the pain and sadness she was going through at the time.
The Diamond Process.
At one point in our lives, we’ve all felt stifled and stuck in a hard situation.
Especially with the current Covid-19 crisis, a lot of us feel like we’re in a free fall that doesn’t seem to end.
Well, God wants you to know that He’s only preparing you for greater things to come.
The making of a diamond has 4 processes. 3 of which Dr. Crystal uses to empower us to fight through our lowest points in life
Stage 1: Positioning.
In the first stage, diamond is actually graphite. It’s buried over 400 miles below the surface thus very hard to get to.
Similar in life. We might feel like we’re in a crisis and that God has completely forgotten us by placinging us and our family in an isolated position of failure.
In true sense though, God isn’t isolating you, rather, He’s positioning you in a state where you’ll fully experience He’s divine power through the path He’s created for you.
The same way a seed has to be buried before it blooms. God has kept you in the tough spot you’re in to prepare for the greatness He’s about to reveal through you.
It’s important to seek God and align our hearts and minds with Him when we’re in our lonely and isolated times.
For this to happen, you have to speak and believe through the prayers you communicate to God with.
Stage 2: Processing.
During processing, the graphite goes through intense heating and pressure to become a diamond.
At this point, the graphite has fully metaphorized and lost all impurities.
Just as in life, God through His tests, places us in intense and hostile environments to enable our growth.
When Crystal was just about to graduate for her PhD program, she needed to file in 3 papers. However, 2 of the papers she submitted ended up being rejected.
Having already gone through so much at this point, a broken Crystal was feeling depressed to a point she was filled with suicidal thoughts. She felt like she had nothing left to fight for.
But even at such a low point, Crystal still had her intentional relationship with God. She still woke up at 4 in the morning for her devotion period, and climaxed her days with prayers, fasting and worship.
The same way Crystal found strength to call for God’s help in her darkest times, so should we embrace what we’re going through and ask God to give us the spirit of wisdom and perseverance to hang on till the end.
Stage 3: The plinian eruption stage.
In this stage, the diamond travels through a Kimberlin pipe and beaks through into the earth's surface in the form of a volcanic eruption.
You’ve probably heard of the saying ‘It’s darkest before dawn’. Just when you think things can’t get any worse, all hell breaks loose. And this is the point where so many people give up.
God will never test you beyond your ability to cope, and just as the diamond has to violently erupt into land, the hell that you’re going through is nothing compared to the abundant blessings God has in store for you on the other side.
If you believe in God, you will not be consumed by the heat and pressure, rather, you will lead a bountiful life because you have decided to fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
Keep standing and praying.
Having gone through her fair share of dark times in her life, Dr. Crystal truly believes that God uses the struggles in your life as a testimony for others to believe in Him.
Even in the midst of sadness and depression, keep pursuing your destiny in line with God’s plans, and you will emerge as a winner in life.
Timestamps
01:06 About Dr. Crystal
01:53 Coping with the current Covid crisis
04:01 Pursuing your destiny in the midst of darkness
04:29 Dr. Crystal’s life story
12:22 Advice on how to push through the dark times in life
13:29 How Dr. Crystal persevered through her problems in graduate school
17:58 Believin in the God’s process
19:44 Dr. Crystal’s purpose as assigned by God
20:05 How to find your purpose
22:38 Dr. Crystal’s role models.
Quotes
We're really grateful that in the midst of all that's going on, there is still hope and that people are still recovering. - Dr. Crystal about the current Covid-19 pandemic
This is an opportunity to seek God’s face and discover what He wants us to know during this season - Dr. Crystal about standing in God’s presence during the current crisis
Your destiny is to fulfill God's purpose.
A seed is hidden in the ground before it blooms. Caterpillars are also hidden before they transform. into beautiful butterflies. God does the same with mankind. - Using your isolation as a way to thrive.
When hidden in a lonely place, it’s important to use that time to align your heart and mind with God’s will.
I encourage you to lean into and accept the circumstances that you’re in. Ask God what you have to do to turn your lemons into lemonades.
Radically intense circumstances call for a radical spiritual response.
Regardless of the challenges or difficulties that we may face. We can be much more resilient if we remember that we are being positioned and not isolated
God is using the struggles as a testimony for others so that others may believe in the God that we serve
If you don't know what your purpose is, try to locate your pain and what hurts you the most. That’s where your ministry lies.
Connect with Dr. Crystal
Website - https://crystalslewis.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/10155192115441953
Twitter - https://twitter.com/DrCSLewis
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ms_cslewis/
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