Calmness in the middle of Chaos

Be still and know that I am God…

“The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” Psalm 46:11

Yes it is easy to get freaked out and panicked in the midst of disaster. And yes, I have had my moments. It is scary not knowing what will happen next! Seeing the news, hearing the updates, and even worse – reading the negatives on peoples Facebooks (ugh!) can really take it’s toll on the nerves!

This little snack (Jell-O chocolate pudding) always brings a smile to my face...tonight was no different! And so it seems, "Happy is still legal in all 50 States AND Japan!"

Things aren’t that bad on this side of Japan where I live….

We have been told to conserve electricity and that there will be rolling black outs, due to the power plant that caught fire. But to loose a little electricity is a small sacrifice to pay in relation to what the Japanese are facing in Northern Japan. I can read a book by candle light, snuggle up in my bed with my pup to keep warm, and eat sandwiches instead of hot food! Those poor people in Sendai have none of these luxuries we have here!

Tonight we did in fact have our first power outage, but it only lasted 2 hours and I was able to have a glass of wine and read a book on my kindle! Not bad, not bad at all!

The Japanese are handling this situation so amazingly! There are updates every hour, and announcements heard throughout the cities. (Though they are in Japanese, so I have no clue what they are saying!) They have stopped the trains in order to restore power and have closed most stores and restaurants as well. Those still open have turned off their outside lights and any other excess power!

Also, the third reactor at Fukushima (North of Tokyo) exploded today, leaving radiation blowing into our air. But the Japanese are doing everything they can to prevent the people from harm.

We have been told to stay indoors and keep our windows and vents closed. But right now, the radiation samples in our area are “EXTREMELY low” and less than “the radiation of a chest x-ray.” We aren’t in danger, just being pre-cautious!

In addition, there are still aftershock earthquakes, which shake the houses leaving everyone shaken up! There is talk of “another big one” which often follow an earthquake the magnitude of the 8.9 we received just 4 days ago. Who knows if or when this will occur…I just know, when the little ones rumble, I am left wondering, “is this it? Is this one going to stop in a few seconds or get worse?” As I am typing this, what felt like 6 separate but almost consecutive earth quakes have happened (just to put it into perspective what we are experiencing here) …each one lasting only a minute or two, but feeling like they will go on forever! “Dear Lord hear our prayer! Please make it stop! Please make it stop!” I say over and over again as I clutch my dog, who’s heart is racing wildly!

“Why are you so fearful, you of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.”