Earthquake!

Saturday 3/29/2014 5:14 AM

Last night I experienced a 5.1 earthquake whose epicenter was in La Habra, just a few miles east of my house.  The house shook for what seemed like a minute, rattling windows, causing the chandelier to sway and a knocking a large picture off the wall in our bedroom, shattering the glass of the frame.  There was a small foreshock earlier in the evening that was nothing but a short jolt, however, when the larger quake struck it began with a little shaking but then increased in intensity.  One of the unsettling characteristics of an earthquake is the uncertainty of whether it is going to get worse and cause major damage and possible injury or if it will slowly dissipate causing nothing more than frayed nerves.

The circumstances and events of my life often have the same unsettling effect upon me.  Will the careless words I uttered without thinking ruin my relationship with my friend or will I be able to repair the damage and restore the friendship?  Is the nagging cough I have had for the last couple of months a simple cold that is hanging on longer than normal or is it a sign of lung cancer or COPD?  Will my aging mother recover from the broken hip she suffered a few weeks ago or will this be the first step in a downward spiral that leads to her death?

Today I read this prayer by William Barclay.  “O God, our Father, we know that the issues of life and death are in your hands, and we know that you are loving us with an everlasting love.  If it is your will, grant to us to live in happiness and in peace. … And if misfortune does come to us, grant that any trial may only bring us closer to one another and closer to you …”  I am not so sure that God wants me to always live in happiness but I do believe he wants me to live in peace, regardless of the circumstances of my life.  In my opinion, that kind of peace can only be achieved if I can live with the assurance that God is my loving Father.  I pray that it will be so in my life.