i feel the earth. move. under my feet.

Today is not an ordinary day.

Today is extraordinary.

It is memorable.

It is different because...

...I woke up and everything was moving. I think it was the sound that woke me up but I'm not sure - it was loud and intrusive and it didn't take a moment for me to wake up. I was asleep and then I was awake. Simple as that. By the time my eyes had opened, I was already sitting up in my bed and my brain was working overtime. It felt like my thinking process took forever because everything felt so foreign but in fact it was probably less than a second. My feet hit the floor before I told them to and I felt around the sides of my bed as I usually do when it's dark. My fingers found the door handle. I opened it and stepped out. It was hard to walk straight. My heart was beating really fast and everything around me was was so loud and I don't remember what I was thinking. I opened my parents door and simply said "get up". My mother came out of the darkness and I felt her next to me and she passed me with "Thank you, Jesus" and she went on to my brothers bedroom. I can't describe my thought process. I don't fully remember. But we all got up, each fumbled around in our dark spaces to find clothing. Find light. And get out. Just get out. Yet in the midst of the noise, the chaos, the uncertainty, the danger...I found peace. Peace that transcended all my limited understanding of what was happening to my world. For this morning, at 4:35am, we were struck with an earthquake. Praise you, Jesus, for your care and protection.

These photos were taken in the centre of town. Thankfully the damage is not nearly so bad where I live. The CBD has been the worst affected, as there were many old buildings. We are fortunate that housing in the majority of the suburbs have withstood the force well. Our city has been and continues to be in a civil state of emergency and still continue to feel aftershocks (in fact, I just felt another one). Thank you, Jesus, there have been no lives lost. People have begun to say that it's a miracle that we were hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake and have had no casualties. God has His hand of protection over my beloved home. To Him be all the praise and glory. I'm off to bed now. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep without too much disturbance:-) If you'd like more details, try here.