Psalm 46:5 - God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. (4th September 2010)
Psalm 91:6 - Do not dread the disaster that strikes at midday. (22nd February 2011)
God has always been with us. His word gives testimony to that and that He will not forsake us in the future. Hindsight is an incredible thing especially with disasters and the rebuild. I for one hated the experience of being in Riccarton Mall on the Boxing Day earthquake of 2010, thinking that would be where I died. However, it was that earthquake which saved many lives two months later as buildings that had been deemed safe where suddenly off-limits, buildings which then collapsed completely on 22nd February. If the Boxing Day earthquake hadn’t happened perhaps you wouldn’t be here today.
A few months after the February earthquake God told me that our love for this city needs to be like His love for us; that He loved us when we were so broken and He loved us to wholeness. We have loved our city, even though at times we have felt broken by it, like the broken buildings that littered the pavements for too long. But the pieces of our city and ourselves are coming back to wholeness. We must keep loving the city and each other.
Emotions experienced in moments of trauma become trapped in our memories. So be kind to yourself and those around you over these coming weeks. You may never know the experiences of the person you are speaking to and how challenging these past six years have been, moving from broken to wholeness.
Psalm 91:6 - Do not dread the disaster that strikes at midday. (22nd February 2011)
God has always been with us. His word gives testimony to that and that He will not forsake us in the future. Hindsight is an incredible thing especially with disasters and the rebuild. I for one hated the experience of being in Riccarton Mall on the Boxing Day earthquake of 2010, thinking that would be where I died. However, it was that earthquake which saved many lives two months later as buildings that had been deemed safe where suddenly off-limits, buildings which then collapsed completely on 22nd February. If the Boxing Day earthquake hadn’t happened perhaps you wouldn’t be here today.
A few months after the February earthquake God told me that our love for this city needs to be like His love for us; that He loved us when we were so broken and He loved us to wholeness. We have loved our city, even though at times we have felt broken by it, like the broken buildings that littered the pavements for too long. But the pieces of our city and ourselves are coming back to wholeness. We must keep loving the city and each other.
Emotions experienced in moments of trauma become trapped in our memories. So be kind to yourself and those around you over these coming weeks. You may never know the experiences of the person you are speaking to and how challenging these past six years have been, moving from broken to wholeness.