When My World Is Shaking

When I was in college, southern Indiana experienced a few minor earthquakes. There was a prediction of a bigger one later in the term. My classmates and I were ready to believe the worst. We lobbied our professors to let us off that day. They took it all in stride and said, "No." In one class we were scheduled to do presentations. Dr. Bock told us that anyone who was giving a presentation during an earthquake would get an automatic A. There were no earthquakes that day.

This morning on the way in, I heard that Turkey experienced an earthquake this morning. I think that makes 3 countries experiencing earthquakes in 2 months: Haiti, Chile, and Turkey. Sobering.

It made me think of the song by JJ Heller entitled "In Your Hands."

I have unanswered prayers

I have trouble I wish wasn't there

I have asked a thousand ways

That you would take my pain away

That you would take my pain away

I am trying to understand

How to walk this weary land

Make straight the path a crooked line

Oh Lord before these feet of mine

Oh Lord before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave your hands

When you walked upon this earth

You healed the broken, lost, and hurt

I know you hate to see me cry

One day you will set all things right

Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave your hands

Your hands

Your hands that shaped the world

Are holding me, they hold me still

Your hands that shaped the world

Are holding me, they hold me still

I do not claim to understand what it is like to live through a major earthquake. The minor ones I have felt hardly count – like pinching your finger in a door. But I do think that these lines are true. When our worlds shake – literally or figuratively – heaven stands. When our hearts are breaking, we remain in God's hands. Perhaps like any parent whose child is heart, God holds us even closer.

Please pray for Haiti, Chile, and Turkey.

God's work in progress,

Amy