And the Earth Shook Again

It’s a week since the 5.85 and 6.0 aftershocks that rudely shook Christchurch on the 23rd December. Kevin and I were having lunch at a restaurant at a mall when the first one struck and the moment is clearly etched in my mind. The gradual shaking, the acceleration and rocking, the fear that it was going to be another massive one.


The young waitresses were distraught and clung together crying as diners looked at each other in shocked disbelief. Another big quake – and just before Christmas. How unfair! How awful!

Trained by past experience, people started to evacuate the mall and crowds streamed past. Car sirens shrieked and faces reflected dismay. For me it was one of my lowest points since the first earthquake in September 2010. Things had been relatively calm for a few weeks and I couldn’t believe the earth was heaving again.

The restaurant staff kindly packed my meal into a container and Kevin and I left as the ground continued to shake with repeated aftershocks. Back home we turned on the TV and watched the breaking news. All the malls were closed, traffic was gridlocked in places, liquefaction and flooding had affected certain areas, cliff faces had collapsed further and the airport was closed.

I turned to Kevin. “Jason and Erin are supposed to fly in tonight for Christmas. I hope they aren’t delayed too much.” Erin told me later she burst into tears when she heard their rescheduled flight was for 9pm on Christmas night. Fortunately, they later managed got on a flight at 6pm on Christmas Eve.

It no longer felt like Christmas. I was sad for the retailers who lost out on one of the best shopping days of the year. I was sad for the people who once again faced clearing silt from their properties. I was sad that our own family plans were disrupted.

And then God spoke to me. I had a choice and it was up to me whether I had a good Christmas. I got up the next morning and went back to the mall to finish what I needed to do. The day was punctuated with shakes but I chose to focus on God. The circumstances were dismal ... but He was not. It made all the difference and Christmas Day turned out to be a lovely time of family and fun.

A week later, our world is still rattling and rolling. A 4.3 set the Christmas tree bouncing last night and another 4.3 woke me early this morning! From past experience I know these are set to continue for a while. As 2012 approaches, my prayer is that God will continue to help me focus on the positive and not on what is happening around me. It’s wonderful knowing the peace He gives in the midst of turmoil!

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

  

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging

Psalm 46:1-3

A Safe Place

I visit Wellington for work every few weeks and often catch a train out to the surrounding areas. Over the last few months I’ve met some new friends in the train station and every time I’m there, I take time to catch up with them. You may be surprised to hear that these friends are a bunch of pigeons.

However, these birds are special. There are six of them and all have crippled feet. I was quite amazed when I first noticed this. I was even more surprised at the way they hang out together inside the station building. The other pigeons fly around the platforms and tracks and sit in the trees outside.

For the last few months I have been facing a difficult situation that left me doubting myself, my character and my writing ability. I was in Wellington two weeks ago and as I shared a bread roll with the birds, God dropped a picture into my mind. These pigeons have found a safe place in the station. They have distanced themselves from a difficult situation.

As the day progressed, I sensed that God was telling me I needed to do the same; that I needed to find a safe place in Him. As the revelation sunk in, my heart began to heal and by the time I returned to Christchurch the next morning, I had made a total 180 degree change in my thinking. The power of the situation to hurt me was completely gone and I was confident in myself again.

Then Monday 13th June arrived. It was exactly two weeks after my trip to Wellington and I was in Palmerston North. I boarded my flight home at 1pm and shortly after takeoff the pilot told us that Christchurch had suffered another large aftershock. “We’ve been cleared to continue the flight but the navigational equipment at Christchurch Airport will need to be checked before we land.”

Anxiety surfaced and I spent some time worrying about what would happen if we were diverted. It was a relief when the pilot told us we were cleared to land. Our flight touched down at 2:20pm, the same time the 6.3 earthquake shook Christchurch. The ground must have just stopped shaking as we hit the tarmac. I don’t think the pilot was aware anything had happened as nothing was said. As we taxied in, I tried calling Kevin four or five times to come and fetch me but couldn’t get through. That’s odd, I thought. We then disembarked to be met with the sight of fire engines next to our plane and firemen in hi-vis vests. As we entered the terminal building, people were surging out of the doors on the opposite side. “Evacuate! Head to your nearest exit! We’re evacuating the airport!”

I got swept up in the crowd, realising another big earthquake must have just happened. Outside the terminal building people stood in clumps, stress and fear etched on their faces. I was shaken and felt quite panicky. Are my family alright? How big was it? Has it caused more damage? I kept trying to call and text but the phone lines were overloaded and nothing went through. Eventually I decided to start walking home while trying to call. It was on the road that I heard a little whisper in my soul. What happened to your safe place?

Wellington Station and the pigeons flashed into my mind and God began to speak. Your safe place is in me. It’s not necessarily physical but it’s in knowing that I am always with you; that nothing surprises me. It’s finding a safe place in your mind, in your thoughts.

I realised then that my safe place in God should extend to every part of my life. It was resting in the confidence that God had my every moment in His hands; that he knew that Christchurch would be devastated by the ongoing earthquakes; that he was with my family at all times; that He was right next to me through every aftershock and every piece of bad news.

It has transformed my life and although my heart still races if I awake to a house that’s banging and shaking, I have a new peace that God is in control. I have found a safe place in Him.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)