The ground we trod is unstable.

And although we know this to be true in theory, we still find ourselves shaken, caught off guard, wondering why the earth trembled as we pick ourselves up off the ground.

Maybe this is because we were not created to walk an unsure path, maybe it is because part of us knows that humanity has fallen from its original purpose of living in paradise, of walking in perfection, of nurturing, loving and creating.

Maybe this is because some deep part of us remembers what life was supposed to be like.  Beautiful, pure, full of light and color.  And when the ground shakes, when we lose our footing and slip, we are reminded of this truth.

We were not created to live in a world like this.  We were created for something more, for something deeper.  We were created to bring and end to the shaking, peace where there is no peace, and stability where none existed.

But so often we look outside of ourselves for those answers.  We look to others, our professions, our positions, our pay and our prestige or popularity for our purpose.  We look to others to shore up our footing and to support our crumbling foundations.  And we wonder why our walls crack when the earth shakes.

I was shaken this week.  News of things I did not expect.  Words came that shook the ground I walked upon, and like I’ve done so many times before, I wondered why I wasn’t more prepared.

I had taken my eyes from the One who holds the very ground I tread upon in His hands.  My focus was on my surroundings, on my circumstances, on me.  Because I wasn’t looking to Him I was caught unaware, and my walls cracked.

Life wasn’t meant to be lived in a perfectly painted house with walls that are plum and level.  Yes, we should give our all when we build our lives, but if a bit of paint gets splattered, if there is a crack in the wall from those months when life ached, if there are patches on the roof and patches over patches, if there are spots where the paint doesn’t exactly match, or the shutters are two different colors, it’s OK.

We were never asked to build a life of perfection, we were asked to build a life of Love.  And those patches, those cracks, they tell our stories.  And when we do that, when we love because we were first Loved, we find our foundation.  We find our peace.  We find our stability and we find our purpose.  When we live out of a place of love, we bring life to those around us, and, we bring hope to a world that needs it.

Future of Forestry – The Earth Stood Still