It’s not easy being gracious under fire, when you’re caught off guard, or when something happens that you never expected.

That happened Sunday night at the Oscars. You probably know the story by now.

Somehow the envelopes for the best picture award – – the finale at the end of the night – – were confused. It was not the way they practiced. That led to confusion all around.

I read a long, detailed article about how the presentation should have been handled. The people at Pricewaterhouse Coopers have carried out the secrecy of the Academy Awards flawlessly for 88 years. This year it didn’t work.

Two accountants for the accounting firm were at each side of the stage. Each had an envelope that was to be given to the presenters. For some reason the wrong envelope was given to the presenters. Instead of the envelope for the best picture, the presenters had the envelope for the best actress, who happened to be in the movie La La land.

It took a full two minutes while the creators of Lala land thanked everyone for the mistake to be rectified. Finally one of the accountants explained everything to the producer of La La Land who immediately took control and graciously and kindly straightened everything out.

I was amazed at Jordan Horowitz for his graciousness and calm under fire. It was a beautiful thing to watch. He took control of the situation and brought this fiasco to the best conclusion possible.

You and I will face a situation like that somewhere in life. How will we respond? Will we pass the test?

How do you get prepared for these kinds of events?

I have two suggestions.

First, live your life graciously and kindly. Seek in every situation to respond without temper, without bitterness, and with graciousness in every circumstance. When the time comes when you are caught offguard and hoping to be gracious under fire, you will be as prepared as you can ever be.

You always play like you practice.

The best result is a practiced result. In athletics you practice so that when you are strained you can react exactly as you’ve practiced. When we practice graciousness, kindness, and calm in the ordinary experiences of life, then we are best prepared for the extraordinary experiences of life.

Second, we can pray that God would prepare us and bless us no matter what may happen. We can anticipate those difficult times and ask for God’s blessings upon us.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

May God bless you and me so that when life is difficult, we may respond in ways that would please and honor Hm.

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