The Power of Nature, and the Weakness of a Child

The earthquake this past week and the promise of a hurricane this coming weekend have gotten me thinking about man's existence in this great big powerful world of ours. Though the earthquake was relatively minor, it was still the first time I had ever seen the earth move like that. It made me realize that there are physical forces at work in the world that go far beyond my ability to cope with. When an earthquake hits, you can run under doorframes and everything, but in the end you are stuck just waiting for it to end.

Similarly, as Irene takes aim at the East coast, I fear for the safety of all our brothers and sisters in the storm's path. From the looks of it, there will be injuries and possibly even deaths. Homes will be damaged, businesses may be lost. In short, lives will be changed and there is not much man can do about it. It's not like we can physically stop the storm.

The complete helplessness of man in these situations reminds me that we are only small children in this world. So many days we go about our business not thinking how fragile we are. We are beings that like to be in control of everything, and while stability and security are good, we sometimes believe we have more stability and security than we do. This false sense of security is especially true in today's world where everything is on demand. We are becoming very used to having every wish of ours fulfilled (just ask anyone how they feel when their internet connection goes down.)

This desire for stability, for security, is something natural in man. It is ultimately rooted in man's desire for God, who is immutable. In his desire for stability, man cries out for the permanence of union with God. The unstoppable nature of these storms reminds us that true stability, true security, true peace is found only in God. Everything we have can be taken away from us in an instant; everything, that is, except our relationship with God. Only we can forfeit that gift, only we can separate ourselves from His Love. "For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Our desire for permanence, though, should ultimately compliment the knowledge of our littleness. If we recognize how small we are, and we desire permanence, than we must trust in God completely. Small children who are just learning how to use their legs find stability in their littleness by turning to their parents. They are willing to throw themselves about because they firmly believe their parents will catch them. Similarly, when we recognize our littleness in the face of these storms, we must trust totally in God. Only in trusting completely can we find the stability we truly long for. It may not be a material stability, and in this world there is still suffering, but it will be an interior stability. It will be a foretaste of the changeless vision in Heaven.