Earthquakes

Before coming to Granada 4 months ago, I had never experienced an earthquake. I've felt at least 5 now, and 3 were in the span of 10 minutes two nights ago. 

When earthquake #1 of 3 hit, my heart instinctively began to pound, but then I self soothed myself and relaxed. Then the 2nd one came, just as big. When the 3rd one shook our apartment more violently than the other two, I was under our kitchen table, trembling from head to two. 

It was unsettling and slightly terrifying. I was embarrassed at my own fear, and how I was literally and figuratively shaken so intensely by earthquakes that are identified as "light" or "small" on the earthquake scale.   

These earthquakes woke me up. As much as I believe that I have a faith that is "unshakeable," it clearly is a bit shakeable. As much as I silently imagine the peace I would have in emergency situations, that peace was not manifesting itself well. Where was my faith in the moments where the ground I was standing on was literally trembling? 

The encouraging news is that I wasn't alone in my fear. When I reached out to my intercambios the next day, every one of them admitted to being scared or freaked out by the earthquakes. My teammates in ministry also shared about our fears that the earthquakes exposed. It was an opportunity to come together in our humanity but also an opportunity to challenge each other to keep that belief and trust ever before our eyes. 

My Spanish friends also informed me that they had never experienced anything like the earthquakes before in their lifetimes. It was truly a historical event that Micah and I happened to pop in on.

Honestly, Micah and I popped into this country at a very weird time of historical earthquakes but also the obvious historical pandemic. We are not experiencing a normal season in Spain. On the contrary, it's probably one of the more difficult times this country has faced. While Micah and I have lamented that we haven't witnessed our cultural center thriving like it normally does or the night life of locals out late for tapas and drinks like they normally are, we're thankful we're here. In a sense, we're seeing the worst of Spain, and in reality, what better time to be immersed among the Spanish people? 

People are at their lowest lows, thousands are sick, and almost everyone is afraid. This is the time that God brought us here to enter into their suffering and say "we are here to suffer with you. We are here to experience these terrifying earthquakes, follow curfew, not leave the city limits, and do whatever we need to do with you in this crazy time." 

Fear is better when it's experienced in community. Grief is better when it's experienced in community. Sickness is better when experienced in community. 

We have a beautiful opportunity to be in Spain right now, to comfort the lonely, encourage the hopeless, share the good news with the seekers, and simply be with this community. And the unshakeable God is the one who brought us here. *written as the earth beneath me ONCE AGAIN begins to shake*