We Survived an Earthquake!
I was sitting in my room at around 6:30 this morning reviewing Spanish vocabulary when everything started to shake. The windows rattled, a picture toppled, and I heard a few shrieks outside above the low rumbling sound of the earth shifting. I had never experienced an earthquake before so I was startled. For Guatemala, it was a mild quake (registered 5.0) and not a big deal. It’s an almost weekly occurrence here. But for me, it made me feel insecure.
Guatemala is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. There are a few intersecting fault lines and the result is multiple volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. There is an active volcano a few miles from Antigua and it’s plume is almost always visible. Erica and I are planning a visit to its peak tomorrow morning.I mentioned in my last post that the town we are staying in was the capital of Latin America in the 16th-18th centuries, but that it was destroyed and abandoned in 1773 because of a major earthquake. Ruins from that quake and of the old city are all over town and Erica and I have done a bit of exploring some of the ruins. You can see in this picture what at one time was a magnificent cathedral that was built in 1523 and destroyed in 1773. It’s open to the public and Erica and I had quite a time climbing around and viewing the ruins. Many of the occupied buildings today are the same that were abandoned when the capital was moved to Guatemala City 250 years ago.Rattling the foundations of anything creates havoc. For Antigua, it cost the city it’s status as capital. For the church we explored, it ruined the structural integrity and took the ceiling and some walls down. Hundreds of people died and since, thousands have died in Guatemala from subsequent earthquakes. An earthquake is more than unsettling, it is destructive and life-threatening.I felt that way when in a single year three significant pastors in my early Christian life left the ministry because of personal moral failures. It felt like an earthquake. Were my foundations being shaken?And then God reminded me of the sure footing I have that does not rest on frail men. Yes, people are influential and we do follow others to a certain degree, but our foundation is in Christ alone.In life, we’ll experience storms, ravaging wind, blistering heat and freezing cold. But you never need to fear the loss of your foundation if your cornerstone is Christ. He will never be moved. A life built on Christ might be rattled, but it will not be shaken from it’s footing."Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself” (Ephesians 2:20 NLT).