The pictures coming out of Turkey and Syria this week are horrific. The death toll has surpassed 11,000 as of this morning, and the number is expected to keep rising. Thousands of buildings have collapsed, and in northern Syria, with its political crises, millions of persons were already receiving and relying on humanitarian assistance, which may not be as readily available now. Add to that the freezing winter temperatures and a mega-disaster is unfolding before the world’s eyes. We have already sent $2500 to Episcopal Relief and Development’s International Disaster Response and hope to send more later. Visit episcopalrelief.org and click “Donate Now” at the top of the page if you’d like to contribute.

Earthquakes are among the most terrifying natural disasters. They offer no warning, and many places we consider safe just aren’t when the earth moves under our feet. When the ground shakes, we can find ourselves without the reassurance we are so used to. After a particularly turbulent flight, or sailing a boat through a storm, or even when we climb a ladder and get a little dizzy, it is always returning to the ground or the mainland that allows us to give thanks and feel at ease once again. When our feet are literally grounded, we can begin to see and feel that things will be ok again. But, it is incredibly unsettling when that firm foundation is no longer solid and doesn’t offer the stability we’re used to. 

We experience emotional earthquakes, too. Like their physical counterparts, they often shake our lives without warning and turn things upside down. It might be because of a death, an injury, an illness, the loss of a relationship, the loss of a job, a tragedy, or any number of things. They are moments that seem to strip away the connections we have with the solid moorings that we typically rely on and take for granted. Those sorts of quakes can knock us off our feet just as easily, and rebuilding can take longer than we might ever have imagined, especially if it shakes us up so badly that we lose track of God in the process.

It can certainly feel that God is no longer our base of strength when we are being tumbled around by life, but I can assure you that God is the strong rock upon which our lives are built. Although we may lose touch with that foundation from time to time, God is always there, always ready to support us and give us the sure footing the Psalmist attests to in Psalm 18, to stand up again and continue on our way, as difficult or painful as that process can be. God’s shakiness is merely an illusion, like vertigo, that, while very real, tells our brain the ground is moving when it’s not. If you’ve seen someone wearing a virtual reality headset and thought they looked ridiculous as their body reacts to heights or falls in the game, you have a sense of what we can go through. Of course, it’s not silly if you’re scared, but our perception isn’t always God’s reality.

For hundreds of thousands of people in southern Turkey and northern Syria, their world has been and will continue to be rocked. I cannot imagine how hard life will become for the poorest and those without a place to live in the aftermath of this earthquake. I hope and pray that whatever their faith, they meet the God of rock-solid love and find solace and strength there. I hope that God continues to show up in the hands and feet of those who serve and care for them. It may not seem like much when you’re cold and hungry, but it’s the firm foundation from which to begin again, the ground from which we can look to hope and rebuild.

Tom+

God, our times are in your hand. In the midst of uncertainty lead us by your never-failing grace as we seek to be agents of healing and hope. Walk with us through difficult times; watch over us in danger; and give to us a spirit of love and compassion for those who suffer and mourn. And finally remind us that you have promised never to leave us so that even in the valley of the shadow of death your love may be felt, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

– The Rev. Lyndon Harris, from the Episcopal Diocese of New York disaster preparedness plan