On January 12th, 2010 a 7.0 earthquake shook the nation of Haiti.  The epicenter was the town of  Leogane, 25 miles west of the nation’s capitol.  Living in the United States, I never felt the ground rumble, I couldn’t hear the screams of fear or the buildings crumbling to the ground.  While my physical body felt no vibrations, my heart was ROCKED!  My daughter, Rose, was still in Haiti when the ground roared to life that day.  I felt paralyzed with fear not knowing how her orphanage had survived the quake or the conditions of our friends that had been inside.

Thankfully, all of our loved ones were safe and protected, but not everyone was as blessed.  It is estimated that at least 250,000 people lost their lives that day or in the days that followed.  80-90% of the buildings in Leogane were critically damaged or destroyed.  Life as they knew it came to a complete stop.

In the weeks that followed, our church family kicked in to gear to raise money to send supplies like tents, medicine and even members of our congregation to help the people of Haiti.  I had shirts printed up that said “Hope Cannot be Shaken.”  I feel the need to pull those shirts out again now.

Fast forward ten years and we are experiencing a different type of seismic event.  Our ground is not physically shifting but our way of life definitely is!   The COVID-19 virus that is spreading across our world is leaving so much destruction in its wake.  People are losing their lives, restaurants, bars and stores are closed, people are unable to work, kids are not allowed to go to school.  Our way of life has been ROCKED!  It is easy to feel that heart gripping fear want to take root yet again.  That t-shirt’s message is just as relevant today.  HOPE CANNOT BE SHAKEN!

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2.

Life looks a lot different right now, but God is the same God he has always been.   He was not surprised by what is happening in the world.  I take great comfort in that thought.  While God does not cause things like earthquakes or pandemics, he does allow them.  If he allows them, then I believe that there is a purpose that he desires to accomplish.  Could it be this time of shaking is a way of sifting the wheat from the chaff in regards to the priorities and focus in our world.

In my life, the things I have found to be shaken are my need for productivity and accomplishment.  I am a very driven person, and I am rarely still.  My to do list is laughable most days but I push myself to cross off each thing.  This pandemic has significantly shortened my daily to do list.  We are not setting our alarm clocks most mornings, we are cooking all of our meals at home and eating together every night.  Our extended family is meeting through FaceTime to play Bingo and have Wii bowling tournaments.  Our focus has been shaken, in a good way.  The things that matter are shining through the chaos of our current circumstances and that is a gift!  We cannot find our hope in the things of this world.

We can choose what we feel.  A couple of months ago, a pastor said that if we make a choice our emotions will follow.  We can choose HOPE while our ground is shifting beneath us.  We can chose to use this time to reconnect with the things that really matter around us.  Our walls might appear to be crumbing and the toilet paper aisle is all but empty but our hearts can be full!  Our families can thrive and our relationships can be strengthened even while social distancing!  Let all that is shaken reveal what really matters.

Haiti did eventually move on with life, though it never did look exactly like it did on January 11th, 2010 again.  Some of the differences were good and others were not.  Our lives WILL move on again as well.  I believe that our new normal will also be different than it was a couple of months ago.  There may be negative effects for sure, but it is my hope that our (my) new normal will continue with the stripped back focus after all the less important parts have been shaken away.

I know the magnitude of the situation is different for each of us.  Those losing their jobs, those battling the actual virus and those who will sadly lose loved ones to it will feel a  greater seismic impact than others.  All we can do is pray for each other and do our part to lessen the aftershocks for those around us.  YOU can shine HOPE to those shaking around you.