The calm before the storm

The earth knew what we didn't. The signs were there yesterday. We saw them, we just didn't know what they we meant.

The sky inviting the storm ever closer.

The blackest of clouds advancing.

Hail and thunder.

And then at 4:35am. A quake. Enough to put heart in mouth. Somehow it felt different to other times. We should know, we have our fair share of rocking and rolling here in the Capital. But this one seemed to last and last. The metal ring in the drawer of the bedside table kept dinging like a clock chiming as the motion of the quake sent it swaying to and fro. And kept dinging long after we stopped feeling the movement.

We went back to sleep. But awoke 2 hours later to the news it was big. Bigger than big. These are just some of the sights from Christchurch.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4094986/Weather-the-next-threat-after-earthquake

NZ really so very fortunate to have weathered a 7.1 magnitude earthquake this well. It is hard to ever know what to expect of such a life changing event. Decades of pent-up energy released as if a dam burst from under the earth, and the earth pummelled and pounded by this invisible force for 40 seconds.

And now the recovery. Months, if not years. Hundreds of millions, maybe billions of dollars of damage. But no loss of life that you would expect from something on this scale. How fortunate?! Even so, our thoughts and prayers with all those caught up in the midst of this national emergency. People who have lost their homes and livelihoods. There will still be tough times ahead. There is no doubt.

But I think we can thank God that it was the middle of the night.