As my husband noted in the last post, yesterday we experienced an earthquake of 5.6 magnitude that lasted about 30 seconds. Afterwards, my oldest was so shaken up that he was unable to fall asleep. Daddy said a prayer for him, reminding him and thanking God for His sovereign control over everything. It wasn’t until after that he went to sleep. When he woke up this morning he told me:

Matthew: “Mommy, that earthquake was heavy.”

Me: “You mean, it’s still heavy on your mind?”

Matthew: “Yes.”

His mind is still churning over the earthquake last night and he still expresses real fear of the event. Later in the day he asked me:

Matthew: “Mommy, I don’t like the earthquake.”

Me: “I don’t like it either, but earthquakes do happen and we need to trust God.”

Matthew: “Are we going to have another earthquake?”

Me: “I don’t know when we’ll have another one, but most likely we will.”

Matthew: “If we have another one, we have to get out of the house, but what if the house falls over? Where are we going to go?”

Me: “Let’s not think about what might happen in the future. Let’s be thankful that God was merciful in protecting us this time around. Our house still stands and we still have a house to live in.”

Natural disasters do happen and it is important to me that I convey that to my son. I almost wanted to say, “It’s ok, Mommy will always be here to comfort you.” However, this statement isn’t true. It is not possible. I cannot make such a promise and only God can. As much as I want to offer my presence as a source of comfort to him, I had to redirect him to God because truly, He is the only One who is able to protect, sustain, and be omnipresent.