Jolt (And I Don’t Mean The Drink)

I have lived in California since 1993 and have only experienced a few small tremors in my time in southern Cali.  You know–the kind that make you feel like maybe you just got dizzy and you’re wobbling a bit, and then you’re looking at everyone else around you and they look like they feel the same.  Then you realize it was a little (miniature) earthquake and you get all excited and tell people about it for the next 4 hours or so.

I had my first “real” earthquake last night.   I was staying with Lynn in the San Fernando Valley, a few miles from what Earthquake Industry Folk call the “epicenter”.  It was about 1:00am and I had been sleeping soundly for about an hour and a a half when, all of the sudden, the window panes started wobbling back and forth, picture frames were falling over, and I was sliding off my bed.  Lynn was yelling my name and I was grabbing my phone and bolting to my door frame all at the same time.

It was over by the time we both reached our doors, and we were stood there, panting as though we had just ran about 4 miles (give or take), and stared at each other with wide eyes, just WAITING for the next wave to come.  My heart was beating so fast I thought it would come out my chest, and I started to have visions of the Northridge earthquake in 1994 even though I wasn’t actually THERE.  I think Lynn had much clearer visions than I as she actually LIVED through the earthquake and it leveled her home; she has some pretty harrowing stories to tell about that one.

Of course, there was NO sleeping after our little 4.5 magnitude earthquake.  We were both wide awake, still waiting for massive tremors or that big 9.0 earthquake and/or tsunami we’ve all been waiting for in Southern California.  It’s the terrorists I tell you.  Maybe not, but I hear they’re stashing danger up their sleeves.

So, though our recent earthquake was relatively small, it was scary, and my first real, live one.  And here I am to tell you about it.  It was a good reminder that even the ground on which we walk isn’t entirely stable or sure.  Only the Lord is, and He holds the 4.5’s in His hands!

Here’s the story of the earthquake I speak of

~ by andtheivy on Thursday, August 9, 2007.