Oliver didn't sleep well last night. Not a shocker. . . neither did his mommy or daddy. We think he is entering into the wonderful 'mood altering, drool pooling, everything ends up in the mouth' world of teething. He was cranky. He was clingy. He was anti-crib. So, because of his restless night, I found myself awake, again! Groggy? Yes. Yawning? Non-stop. Eyes open? Barely. But, nonetheless, awake. At 4 am. I took him to our room and climbed into bed, hoping for peace. The house was quiet. Oliver and I were rocking. Jarrod was snoring. The world started shaking.
It sounded like thunder. I thought a storm was coming. But then, the windows rattled, the house began to shake, and I shot up!
"Jarrod, what is that?"
"What?" (He was none too thrilled to be awakened for the bazillionth time that night.)
"That!" (Pointing like a mad woman around the shaking room.)
"I don't know."
"Did a car hit our house?" (Ok, it might sound stupid now, but in my defense, most anything sounds credible at 4 something in the morning!)
"I don't think so."
"Will you look?" (We have small windows on the wall above our bed. He reluctantly stood up and looked out.)
"No car. I think we're having an earthquake."
"An earthquake?!! Oh, my goodness. What should we do?"
"Probably move from under this ceiling fan."
That was our actual conversation. Not too profound, but remember, we were sleep deprived! Before last night, I hadn't found myself in very many middle-of-the-night, worried-a-car-hit-the-house, earthquake conversations. I plan to say something much more clever next time! (We did have an earthquake. 5.2 - not sure what that means, but it sounds substantial to me!)
The shaking stopped. Jarrod went back to snoring. Oliver fell asleep. I started thinking. Does God have to "shake" me in order to get me stirred up for Him? Does He have to rattle my complacency and shake up my plans? Am I truly awake in Him, looking for ways to be used for His glory? Or do I waste my talents from time to time, being more "groggy for God" than "go-getter for God"? Definitely something to think about. Here's my middle of the night revelation . . . I really don't want to be a person who has to be shaken to get stirred!
9 years ago
6 comments:
Aubrey,
Great thoughts! Do I have your permission to reprint it in our church bulletin??
Darrell
Sure!! Thanks!!
Wow- Earthquakes in Illinois? I had no idea! Is that common? Great thoughts on being stirred- I am working on getting it the first time ya know? I wish I had always been the person who God could whisper to...wouldn't that be cool? Great blog! Hope you are doing well~
Mel,
Earthquakes don't come around too often, but we are on a fault line here, so it's always a possibility. Crazy, huh?!! It was definitely a wild experience (plus the aftershocks)!
Thanks for "stirring" and reminding me to not let a moment go by to be looking for ways to be used by God!
You are such an inspiration to me! I can't wait to read your next entry!!!
I love you!!!
I just finished checking the website that posts where and when earthquakes have occurred in the past 7 days, it has become a strange habit. I wonder how many times a day God checks to see where and when I have SHAKEN for Him?
I love reading your blog and still think you need to add to it daily!
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