April Showers

I think most of us are familiar with the popular phrase: April showers bring May flowers. A similar phrase could be applied here in Peru: Cold April mornings bring earthquake warnings.

It seems that with the recent earthquake in Chile on Tuesday, and one of smaller size yesterday, earthquakes are all anyone talks about. Did you feel anything? There's a bigger one coming. Do you have a plan if an earthquake would occur? Are there earthquakes where you are from? It's colder this April than usual, the cold mornings/evenings combined with the hot afternoons could signify that earth is changing and an earthquake may occur here soon.

Sometimes I have to smirk when I hear the comments of others, but inside I often find myself nervous and afraid. I have a hard time believing that the rare, April cold mornings and evenings combined with the hot afternoons would be a sign of an earthquake to come. I mean it makes sense that it could signify a thunderstorm or a tornado - weather related events, but an earthquake is something completely different.

However, when I think of the reality that an earthquake can happen at any moment, with no warning, no matter where I am or what I'm doing I start to become afraid. What would I do if I were home by myself? What would I do if I were at school? Or worse yet, what would I do if I were on a bus stuck in traffic as I often find myself in the afternoons returning from work? Chances are cell service would be cut off and the internet would be down, I'd not be able to reach Javier or anyone else for that matter.

Usually it's in those moments that I become most fearful that I feel the touch of the Lord and He reminds me that He is in control; that He knows exactly if/when an earthquake will strike, and that He already knows my fate should it occur here in Lima.

I'm learning more and more that we can't live our lives in fear. I can't be fearful of getting robbed every time I go out, or I'd never leave my house. I can't be afraid of saying the wrong thing in Spanish, or I'd not be able to communicate with most people here. I can't be scared of an earthquake that may or may not every happen because the time and place of where it may strike is unpredictable.

Living without fear doesn't mean make stupid choices and decisions. I still don't exchange money on the street; instead I go to the exchange house near the bank. I try to speak in Spanish with my Peruvian friends that speak English because even when I make a mistake, I know the more I speak the more I'm learning. I'm learning that it's okay to mess up because real friends will help you out rather than laugh at you. I've also learned that while it's necessary to have an emergency plan should an earthquake occur, I can't just sit at home in fear waiting for it to come an go.

If nothing else this experience living overseas has taught me to live outside of my comfort zone. It's taught me to depend on God more than ever before, and it's taught me to think differently. I'm learning not to sweat the small things, to focus on what really matters, and that my problems are small in comparison to the situations and suffering others around me are facing.

So if anything, while in the north you are all singing the tune "April showers bring May flowers." I am here in Peru smirking at those who have told me (in their own words of course) that these "Cold, April mornings signify earthquake warnings."