Earthquake in Kansas? Shiver Me Timbers!!

Sitting on the sofa, working on a hub, when I hit a speed bump! Literally!!! It felt like I was sitting in the backseat of my car when going over a speed bump at the mall! Of course there aren't any speed bumps in my living room and at 2 a.m. it was startling at best! What in the world was that??

We live in a rural area, just off a main highway. There is about 20 yards between our house and the highway. We have wooded areas, ponds and deer! It is not unusual to hear cars screeching to a halt trying to avoid deer this time of year. When I felt the house tremble, I ran to the hall, yelled to my husband to "get up and get dressed!" I was sure that a vehicle had hit the house! I ran to the front window looking for any sign of trouble. Nothing. I thought it was so strange, but never did it cross my mind that it might have been an earthquake. My husband looked around outside and reported, "Everything's fine." He said, "It's late, you probably fell asleep." He was right. It was late, I wrote down the time, 2:20 a.m., but I had not fallen asleep, not yet anyway! Off to bed I went!

When I awoke, I rolled over and noticed that I had several Facebook notifications. I checked them to see several friends had asked me if I had felt the earthquake! What?! Earthquake!!? I am not loopy! Well....not any more than usual anyway! Our local news reported that a 4.9 magnitude earthquake had occured about 70 miles east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We live east of Oklahoma City....about 215 miles east, near Joplin, MO. Wow...our first earthquake!! How exciting! There was no reported damage...it can be exciting!

What a year 2011 has been!!! Record snowfall and ice in January. EF5 tornado annihilates Joplin in May. Earthquake in November! What will be next?

It has been a long day! We just got home from a late dinner and had begun to settle in. I had some computer paperwork to complete and my husband had a call to make. He was in the kitchen and I was in the living room. It was almost 11 p.m.- the calm and quiet of the night. The house began to shake and literally tremble. There was a roaring rumble. It lasted about 15 seconds! I was excited!! I KNEW it was an earthquake this time AND others felt it! Yes, a couple had felt the earlier one, but none of us knew what it was. Everyone else slept through it! The cell phone lit up in literally seconds! My mother, my son, friends and neighbors all asking and confirming that yes...we felt THAT!!! This one was a 5.2 and it was, reportedly, originated at a point a few short miles from the first.

What is happening? What is causing the earthquake? Will there be more? Are they going to grow in intensity? I must admit...I wonder. I will sleep lightly...waiting for another. Afraid? No...oddly excited. I am intrigued. It is kind of like watching an approaching storm. How close will the lightning get? How big will the storm be? Will I be there? I want to know. Will I be there for this? Will there be another? I will watch and wait and..... I will share with you!

In an effort to accurately present the information, I would like to add that the first earthquake, a 4.7 magnitude, was centered near Sparks, Oklahoma, which is a small town about 44 miles northeast of The Oklahoma City area. It occurred on November 5, 2011 at approximately 2:12 a.m. central time.

It was followed by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the same area later that evening at approximately 10:56 p.m. central time. There continue to be aftershocks felt throughout the area. We have felt 3 here in the southeastern corner of Kansas, so far. To read more about this and other earthquakes go to http://earthquake.usgs.gov to find a ton of information. Most of the damage is reported to be minimal at this time.

I do want to encourage everyone to use this as a wake up call to take the time to prepare for unusual events. There are increasingly more events that tell us that we need to be thinking and preparing for the possibility of more. The bible says that there will be great earthquakes preceding the end times in Matthew 24:4-7, Mark 14:3-10, and again in Luke 21:7-11. I am not sure that this qualifies as a great one, but it does remind us that it is time to prepare both physically for earthquakes and spiritually for the Lord's return. God bless!

Text Copyright 2011 Deborah M. Carey