Following the 10:30 worship service on July 27^th, I went into my office and noticed that a message had been left on my cell phone.  My sister had left me a message informing me that my mom had been taken to the hospital for pneumonia and that my sister was on her way to go be with my mom.  It was soon after listening to this message that my sister called and informed me that it wasn’t pneumonia but an event of a pulmonary embolism in the lungs and it did not look good.  By Sunday evening, my mom had been placed in hospice and it was clear that I needed to go out to San Diego.  The next day, my son, Tony and I drove to be with my mom for her last days on earth.

On Tuesday, I was sitting bedside with my mom on the seventh floor of Palomar Hospital.  My sister and her husband had left for a while and Tony had left to go for a walk and find something to eat.  As I sat there, I began to feel the floor moving and the chair I was sitting in began to shake, and the bed my mom was in began moving.   The tray table, the IV unit began to rattle and shake.  At first I thought that there may be a helicopter pad outside and that a helicopter was landing.  But no, that was not the case.  It was an earthquake.  I continued to watch the TV and it was soon after this that the news began to carry the story of a 5.6 earthquake that rocked the region.  Even though I grew up in earthquake country, there is something uncomfortable and disconcerting when the building and the ground on which you stand begins to shake and you have no control over it.

As I reflect back on the days that unfolded following the earthquake, I realize that more than the foundation of the earth was shaking in my life.  The most powerful influence and foundation of my life outside of God was shaking and causing a great sense of discomfort and vulnerability as my mom passed.  This isn’t the first time that such a powerful influence in my life had passed.  I think of my mother-in-law and my father and my best friend from my school days.  All of these influenced my life with unconditional love and care and yet, something about the passing of mom really shakes the foundations of life in a differing way.

“Do not fear, or be afraid;

Have I not told you from of old and declared it?

You are my witnesses!

Is there any god besides me?

There is no other rock; I know not one.”

                                    Isaiah 44:8

There is only one source of life to build upon.  It is the One who declares His promises and then has the power and authority to fulfill His promises.  Nothing can shake this truth.  Nothing can alter, or change, or distort, or separate humanity and our souls from this truth.  It is in this truth that God’s foundation of hope is produced and we, as children of God’s promise, are the ones to witness this truth.  There is no other.  No, not one. 

Praise be to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In Christ’s love and service,  Pastor Dan       

Contact Pastor Dan at: pastor@mtzionelca.com