Do you remember the Northridge Earthquake? It was more than 20 years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. We lived in the east end of Simi Valley and thus were pretty close to the epicenter. The damage in our neighborhood and other parts of Simi Valley ranged from minor to major… it was very hit and miss. Chaos.
I remember the chaos of the earthquake itself. The loud noise or roar as the ground shook all our possessions off their perches. Then silence. And when we turned on the flashlight we experienced another kind of chaos… that of just enough damage to need some major work… but not enough damage to make our house uninhabitable.
For years we were reminded of the quake each time we used our kitchen. You see, the dishes that fell out of the cabinets and onto the counters broke (of course) and knicked and scratched and cracked the tile in just enough places that…it was annoying… but not too many places that we could justify new counters when our limited funds were required elsewhere.
The damaged counter was a constant reminder of the chaos that day long ago. I was always trying to wipe up the spot, only to remember, “O yeah, its earthquake damage.” To me the damage looked as if someone had splattered cake batter everywhere and then let it dry. Chaos.
I think that I’m remembering the chaos of that particular time in my life because we seem to be experiencing a different sort of chaos in our civic life. We have an election happening soon and according to the polls neither candidate is very popular. I’ve always been interested in what happens politically in our country, but what we have now seems to be more disheartening than interesting. Chaos.
Do you feel it also? It seems as if the division we face will only lead to more chaos. That is not a hopeful feeling. So, when I find myself feeling a bit “un-hopeful” I remember that I (and many of us) worship a God who created the world by bringing order out of chaos. We worship a God, who in creating this world, created humans and called them “very good.” We worship a God, who in Jesus loves us unconditionally and promises to be with us always. I like remembering these important truths, because they assure me (and hopefully you too) that no matter what happens Jesus is here with us and will see us through anything. (And if your feeling the need to talk about your feelings please feel free to contact me.)
