Earthquake
Pulling Joy from Rubble
Introduction
Inspiration for this issue of The Adventure of Reflection comes from a documentary I watched on earthquakes this week. I was also struck by a profound comment from a friend about our priorities following an earthquake, when searching through the rubble. Thank you for joining me as I ponder earthquakes as a metaphor for seasons when our lives are violently shaken.
A Minute of Motivation
Priorities
You may think you can do it all and have it all – and maybe you can – but not all at once. There is not enough time and energy in each day of your life to work on everything you want to do, be, and have. There probably isn’t enough time or energy in a whole year to get and do everything you would like. That’s why it’s important to divide your possible activities into top, moderate, and low priorities. Decide what is most important and/or most urgent – those are your top priorities.
These are the activities that will have the most short-term and long-term benefit to you or the ones you love. Sometimes your top priority will be work or studying; at other times it will be taking a break and having fun. The important thing is to think about your choices and decide what is your top priority, rather than be swept along by what feels good at the time, what is nearest at hand, or what your friends advise you to do.
Many people waste years on low priorities – things that do little or nothing to improve the quality of their lives or the lives of others. Each day of your life is precious and irreplaceable. Use your time wisely.
Note. This was written as an encouraging message for college freshmen. It was published in Minutes Motivators in 1992 and republished here because the aftermath of earthquakes reveals our highest priorities.
Enjoy Life More
Focus on What Matters Most
We have all seen the horrible images of collapsed homes and buildings after a violent earthquake. An historic California earthquake sandwiched cars between two layers of a stacked highway. There were also apartment buildings where the first floor was crushed by the top two floors. Emergency response personnel arrived as quickly as possible on the scene and began to dig, not for possessions, but for people.
In the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, the only focus is on people. In an instant, all other priorities become irrelevant. One moment the focus is on cars, buildings, and possessions; the next moment the focus shifts completely to a single priority – finding the people. As survivors are pulled from the wreckage the response is overwhelming joy. When bodies are retrieved there is deep sorrow and profound relief for having found missing loved ones.
Why does it take a natural disaster to shift our priorities to where they should be all the time? What if we walked through each day looking for people, instead of looking for things? In a metaphorical sense our shared world is struggling from the aftermath of a global earthquake.
To enjoy life more, quiet the noise of your own ambition and listen for the sounds of survivors. Set aside the clamor for possessions and accomplishments and focus on the people in your corner of the world. Live today as though an earthquake has shifted your priorities to what matters most: people.
Faith Corner
“We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” Hebrews 12:28
When an earthquake hits, where do you want to be? Unlike natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and even volcanoes, earthquakes typically happen suddenly, without any advance warning. About the only way to avoid getting trapped or crushed by an earthquake is not to be anywhere near a fault line. In college I watched a film about San Francisco called “The City that Waits to Die.” Yikes! Scientists predict “the big one” is coming, but no one knows when.
In the heart of the Midwest, many miles from the nearest fault line (The New Madrid), I feel pretty safe from actual earthquakes. There aren’t any volcanoes, not even dormant ones, anywhere nearby either. I have been near the destruction of severe tornadoes; Joplin is only 70 miles away. Another tornado came within a mile of our house several years ago.
Natural disasters aside, there is much about my world, and yours, that can be shaken, no matter where we live. Health, finances, jobs, and relationships can be shaken. One minute the world is calm and steadfast, the next minute something important lays in ruins. There’s often no warning. All is well – and then it’s not.
The author of Hebrews wrote about one thing that cannot be shaken, something not vulnerable to any disasters. Believers in Jesus Christ “are receiving a kingdom” that cannot be destroyed. Even if the heavens, the earth, and all nations are shaken and demolished (see Haggai 2:6-7) , the kingdom of God, in Christ, remains. Those who are part of that kingdom stand on a firm foundation whose cornerstone is Jesus.
Where do I want to be when disaster strikes? I want to be standing on a foundation that cannot be shaken. Though the earth, heavens, and all created things can be shaken, the cornerstone of my life stands firm.
Dear Lord, it is hard to think about the things around me being shaken or destroyed. I have already had parts of my world shattered by disaster or disease. Through it all, one thing has always remained; You are never shaken. In You, my life can never be completely devastated. Thank You for being the firm foundation on which my stability can be found. Help me to trust you at all times, especially during times of shaking. Amen.
Poetry Pause
Shaken
Suddenly
The world shook violently.
Dropping me to my knees.
Then quiet.
Destruction all around.
Is it over?
I stand up and get busy.
Recovery begins.
The shaking returns.
Less intense,
But frightening.
Back on my knees.
Then quiet.
I stand up and get busy.
Again, the shaking,
Followed by the quiet,
And the recovery.
Aftershocks.
When will the shaking end?
Perhaps I should stay on my knees.
By Cindy MacGregor, February 23, 2023
Note. I wrote this as a reflection of how the pandemic shook, and continues to shake, my world. Last week I experienced an “aftershock” as I realized the “earthquake” had destroyed my place of belonging at work. It’s been three years since the decision to close the beloved EdD program that was my professional world, and I was at the hub of a great wheel. Last week I realized I was no longer in a wheel. The realization rocked my world…again.
Old Mom to Young Mom
Pulling Joy From Rubble
Are your children flawless? Are you the model of all that is good about parenting? Do you go to sleep at night and typically think, “that was a perfect day”?
Silly questions, I know. I live in the real world and I parented in the real world. Now I watch my children parent my grandchildren and I see them struggle. I suspect many days their last thoughts before dropping into sleep are ones of relief for having survived, and avoided serious disaster. I know mine were during my “young mom” years.
If children live in your home, you are probably fighting an endless battle of debris from their presence. Clothes, toys, and crumbs are evidence of active and healthy children. A sock here. A stray Lego there. An uneaten French fry on the carpet. This isn’t madness. This is life with children. And, if you have a hurricane or tornado child, the rubble is extensive and chronic.
After our grandchildren visit I put away the toys. The bath toys go back in the closet. The books go back into their little bin. The Little People go back into the storage chest. I choose to put these things away between visits because having them out makes me miss my grandchildren more. The “rubble” of their presence is only part of my world when they are. Between their visits there is no rubble in my home.
From an old mom to young parents, I encourage you to find joy in the “rubble” the activity of your children bring into your home. I challenge you to see every stray sock, every uneaten French fry, and every overlooked Lego as a joyous sign of children in your home. One day they will each move out and you will miss their “rubble.” I know I do.
Dear Dr. Mac
Hi Dr. Mac!
I just wanted to tell you that although I am not responding to every newsletter, I am reading every word. Thank you for continuing to write. You are writing words people need to hear. Words I need to hear.
Miss you,
D. W.
Dear D.W.,
I miss you, too. I am so grateful for the time I had with you and the other doctoral students, a precious time where our hearts were forever woven together. The program is gone, and yet it definitely is not, and will never be.
Your message is a tremendous encouragement to me. I can see how many “views” each newsletter receives, but, as you know, quantitative data only tells part of the story. Like Paul Harvey, your words help me know “the rest of the story.”
Signed,
Dr. Mac
To my readers: If you would like to share your thoughts or hear what I think about something, please send an email to: drcjmacgregor@outlook.com; I will respond via email or in this section of a future newsletter, or both. I hope to hear from you!
You can find all my previous posts at https://cindymacgregor.substack.com/archive