I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:11-13 NIV
In 2018, Alaska experienced 54,000 earthquakes according to the Alaska Earthquake Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. On average every fifteen minutes or so the earth moves somewhere in the state. You might think we would be paranoid about earthquakes, but whenever something is so common it does the opposite. It is baked into life and our expectations. To be honest, the state is so massive that I only feel a few quakes a month while sitting in my Barcalounger at home. If they don’t rattle the dishes, they aren’t a thing. “We are having have an earthquake!” I might announce. “Cool. What’s for dinner?” comes the reply.
When the big ones hit, I am struck with how inaccurately we perceive the world. We have the perception that the ground seems is firm and dependable. We build expensive houses on it and expect them to last for a lifetime. In reality, all that we think of as stable floats on an ocean of magma. It slowly adjusts to the shifting pressures of different plates grinding against each other, seeking an equilibrium from the catastrophic movements of the past. The soil beneath us can liquify in the vibration of a large earthquake. Building foundations sink, houses split in half, and roads are ripped apart like tissue paper. Everything that we consider strong and immovable is vulnerable to the incalculable forces beneath our feet.
