Foundations

I'd like to move to California someday.  My wife, Judy, and I have visited several times, from the north coast to "So Cal."  It will be several years from now, of course, because retirement is still far off in the distance.  So Cal doesn't have snow too often, and since I don't appreciate it as much as others do, it is a very desirable place in which to think about relocating down the road.

I know there are plenty of reasons not to live there.  Chief among them would be pollution, the highway system, the high cost of living and a plethora of "celebrities."  But I could get over all of that.  My wife has one other concern, though, that I don't share quite to the same degree.  She's worried that an earthquake is going to sooner or later shake the foundations of the place and half of the state will slip into the Pacific Ocean.  She does have a point.  And it does seem like there are more shake-ups worldwide that ever.  Or maybe we're just more aware of them because we're thinking of moving to California.

People in the Golden State seem to be maximizing their chances of survival.  They've long been drilled in what to do and where to go.  Few homes are without "earthquake kits" stocked with emergency food, water, survival gear and first aid supplies.

That's all good and well, but I guess I'm a little more concerned about spiritual quakes and shakes people encounter in their daily lives, wherever they may live.  Are we prepared for a maximum chance of survival if the supports we've built into our lives begin to sway an rock?  What if we lose our job and our standard of living is threatened? What if our spouse or child dies suddenly?  What if injury or an illness incapacitates us?  What if depression or despair starts to choke us? What is it that remains solid in our lives when all of our familiar surroundings are shaken and taken away?  

When people cross over the border from Mexico to the United States, I've heard the patrol officer usually asks five questions: 1) Who are you? 2) Where do you come from? 3) Where are you going? 4) What is your purpose? 5) How long will you be?  They seem like good questions to me.  I'll keep them in mind, just in case I ever do get to the west coast and decide to take a side trip to Baha.  Better yet to think and pray about them regularly wherever I may be.