I feel the Earth move under my feet.

It's been an interesting week topped off by an emotional weekend.

Earlier this week, I got to experience my first ever earthquake. It was very minor here in SC, but also an extremely weird, exciting event. I realized that the ground is something I generally take for granted, and it reminded me that truly nothing in this world is permanent or static.

I also managed to do something grown human adults almost never do, which is trip and fall and eat sidewalk. Hard. I was on my way to meeting on a college campus, boppin' along, chatting with my mom, and the next thing I know, I'm on the ground, coffee in the dirt, clothes ripped, and bleeding. A very kindly soul took me to the student health center to get all of the gravel and dirt of of my knee, but it's now 4 days later, and I'm still limping. I'm very grateful that it wasn't worse, but I'm getting antsy not being able to do normal things without extreme discomfort.

And then yesterday, a precious, beautiful woman of God who was a part of my church family back home unexpectedly passed away. My heart is aching for her sweet family, but it brings such peace to know that she is now in the presence of Jesus. And in the very same day, my best friend lost her grandmother, and I hate that I cannot be with her right this moment several states away.

Basically, I have been left unsettled and anxious about the impermanence of everything in our lives. If left to my own devices, I could be a fearful, sniveling wreck in 5 seconds flat. But I feel God whispering His truth into my fears, that no matter what happens in this life, that He is unchanging. That He is faithful. And that He is already existing in the future I know nothing about, and He has it under control. I happen to be re-reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom at the moment, which is one of my absolute favorite books of all time, and also a quick way to get some perspective on any Earthly trouble I may ever face. Corrie Ten Boom and her sister, Betsie, are two of my heroes. I want to see the world the way they did, and this is what they said about worry and fear:

"There are no 'ifs' in God's world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety - O Corrie, let us pray that we may always know it!"
-Betsie Ten Boom

"Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength."
-Corrie Ten Boom

Only Christ is certain. Not even the ground beneath our feet is permanent. But He is all we need.

Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.