I am not a fan of earthquakes.  Unfortunately, it’s a necessary evil one must occasionally endure if they choose to live in California.  Besides, a little earth shaking every now and then is a small price to pay for year-round sunshine, beaches, and In n’ Out.

For the most part, I’ve gotten used to seismic activity.  Apparently I slept through one at 2am this morning and fell back to sleep fairly quickly after a 4am jolt back in March.  However, this is no indication that I’ve built up immunity to earthquakes.  When the “right” kind of earthquake hits, I’m like a cartoon cat clawing at the ceiling.

One such earthquake was the one that hit this past April on Easter Sunday.  The epicenter was located in Mexico but was felt through most of Southern California.  Although I was a good distance from the epicenter, I could still feel a slight rocking motion that lasted about 30-40 seconds – that’s like a lifetime in earthquake time.

I was thoroughly freaked out even though the rocking wasn’t even strong enough to shift papers on the kitchen table.  What freaked me out was that the shaking just wasn’t stopping.  For a moment I was convinced this was the beginning of the end.  I mean, come on, an earthquake on Easter?  That’s tragedy of biblical proportions in the making.

The thing about earthquakes is that they are completely unpredictable.  You never know when they’re going to hit, you don’t know how long they’ll last, and you certainly don’t know if it’s just a little shaking or disaster in the making.  Literally and figuratively speaking, earthquakes are unsettling.

Life is pretty much the same.  Despite how grounded we may be, inevitably our worlds will be shaken.  We all will endure situations ranging from short jolts to major quakes that completely turn our worlds upside down.

But if there’s anything I’ve learned from living in Southern California, it’s earthquake preparedness.  You’re never told how to predict an earthquake; you’re taught basic principles of earthquake survival.  If you’re going to live in California you need to know where to find cover and what to pack in your emergency kit.  It’s just like going to those middle states where tornadoes hit: find shelter on low ground and pack A LOT of hairspray (the hairspray is mostly to prepare you to meet cute EMTs).

When it comes to life quakes, you can’t predict when they’re going to hit – you just need to be prepared.  Here’s a couple of ways to prepare:

1. Expect to feel fear, but don’t let fear overcome you.  Fear causes panic and can lead us to say or do stupid things (like run into the street the second an actual earthquake starts – haven’t done it, but I wanted to).  Stay calm and remember the shaking is only temporary.

2. Set up an emergency response team.  Despite the severity of the situation, it’s always helpful to have reliable people close by who will be there to support you.  Sometimes you just need a hug or someone to gripe to and other times you’ll need someone who will be there to carry you through a dark time.  Regardless of how independent we might think we are, at some point we all need a little assistance.

3. Build your life on a firm foundation.  People will fail you, jobs can be lost, and many things on this earth will eventually fade away.  But if your foundation is in the Lord, you can survive ANY amount of shaking the world throws at you.

Getting shaken up: unavoidable.  Being prepared: doable.  Surviving anything when your life is built on a firm foundation: inevitable.