When the earth shifts under your feet, what do you do? Who do you turn to? I hear a lot about earthquakes nowadays, those in Oklahoma where previously they were rare, those around the world causing tsunamis and devastation, and, of course, in California, people keep talking about the coming “big one.” The physical shaking of what was once firm ground is scary enough, but what about the other shake-ups that occur to each of us personally as we journey along this uncertain road called life?
We have our days ordered, plans carefully made, the hours laid out before us in a comfortable sequence then, all at once, everything is in disarray. If we have centered around children or grandchildren, suddenly those kids are kids no longer. The places at the dinner table where they sat are now empty as they pursue their own activities which, strangely, don’t include Mom and Dad or Grandma.
We faithfully go to our jobs, finding security and familiarity in our nine-to-five schedules then, all at once, that job is no longer there. Maybe it just goes away or maybe we retire. Now, what to do with all those hours?
We dream dreams, we lay plans: we will travel or take up a longed-for activity, but, a little thing called life intervenes. Health cares surface, that hoped-for goal just isn’t working out the way we imagined, and we want to shout, “Wait! It isn’t supposed to be this way.”
So, what do we do when the earth shakes and we find ourselves in entirely new territory where the landscape has changed and direction is lost? What is there that’s lasting and stable and secure and, most of all, joyous?
The answer is different for each of us. The crucial thing is to find that answer, to search, to look, to keep going until life is meaningful once more. I’ve found the Bible, that ancient Book that has many stories of successes and failures, of good and evil, of shaking and rearranging, is comforting. I’ve found comfort in prayer and in talking to people who, if they don’t understand, at least sympathize. And, most of all, I’ve found that staying busy brings meaning into each day. Maybe we can’t do what we once did, but we can do something. In some small way, we can make life a little better or help some other bewildered traveler find her way.
It would be nice if we could count on stability in this world, but the truth is, we can’t. Things just don’t stay the same. I think there must be some sort of law of nature involved here. The earth shifts now and then, for all of us. How we respond to that shifting determines whether we can keep our footing in an ever-changing world.
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