World Disasters & Living On The Edge
In the 1960's growing up seemed really scary at times. In comparison to now, what deemed as scary then in no way could be considered as dangerous as children living in today's world. I remember being very little and having to line up at school in order to receive vaccines. There was a time when the polio shot would leave a horrible mark on most people's upper arms. However, when I got my polio vaccine, they dropped the vaccine on a sugar cube and I had to eat it. I wasn't left with scarring like some of my elders and cousins. I vaguely remember the descriptions and reasons why we were getting inoculated (what a word). There were pictures shown of children who had contracted polio and measles, amongst other horrible illnesses. As a child, it was frightening to think that any of us could get sick if we didn't have these vaccines.
Also big on the list of scary world issues was the threat of bombs being dropped on our city. I grew up in the city of Lomita, CA. This was a city near the ocean -- we were near Long Beach, San Pedro and the Port of Los Angeles (There was military presence there as well). In our city, they would blow a bomb siren (it's a very eerie sound) once a month. If we ever were in school and heard that siren, we were told to duck and cover. They actually held drills on a routine basis and they showed us how we were supposed to protect ourselves by getting on the floor, pulling in our knees and putting our hands behind our necks and pull ourselves as tight into ourselves as we could to protect our bodies from debris that might be flying toward us during a bombing. The threat of bombs grew from the explosive kind into the atomic bomb. As a child, I always felt that my life could end in a second should another country want to blow us up. Then, of course, living in the great state of California, there was also the threat of the big one hitting, so we were also trained to get under our desks or tables should we start feeling the earth move underneath us. While living in Lomita, I do remember the Sylmar Earthquake that moved my bed slowly across our hardwood floors. That was pretty terrifying. My parent's resolve was to stand under a doorway until the shaking stopped. Unfortunately, those techniques followed me into adulthood for an earthquake event. It's funny how in adulthood they would tell you to get under a desk should an earthquake occur -- even though I worked three stories up in a business building. Somehow, I don't think going under our desk would be our only concern should a big one hit.
I remember there was a time when a place called Portuguese Bend in the Palos Verdes area near us had started experiencing ocean erosion and houses and roads were falling into the ocean. My Dad got this great idea that he wanted to take a trip there to check out in person what was going on -- even though citizens were advised to stay away from the area. My Dad got us pretty close to the disaster area and all I could think of is that the road we were driving on would be falling into the ocean at any minute.
When we were little, my Dad was a risk taker. There were areas on the coast one was Abalone Cove and other beach areas where tide pools existed. When the tide would pull out far enough, it exposed a world of sea creatures that were fun to look at and experience. For some reason, sometimes my Dad would take us later into the afternoon to enjoy these adventures. I can't tell you how many times my family had to run from near disaster as the tides would start rapidly coming in and trapping us against a cove and having to run out of the area before we would be emerged under water and carried out by the strong waves and current. Let's talk about nature against man -- that was some scary stuff. Also, my Dad loved to take us hiking on the cliff areas of the beaches. I remember there were trails that would get only as wide as putting two feet together and slowly creeping across those trails high above ocean rocks below us. The terror I would feel when he insisted that we go up there hiking. Most of the time, I would freeze with fear as I did not like the idea of falling off those edges. I remember hugging and hanging tight to the weeds and plants growing out of the cliff walls. I can only imagine what my heart rate was at that time -- these so called "fun" adventures.
I remember one time in particular, my older brother decided to meander up the trails by himself. My Mom and I stayed at the ground level. I think she got smart enough to know that with all my justified fear that one day I would fall off the side of one of those trails and quite honestly, I don't think she liked it either. Well my Dad followed my brother up there when they realized where he was. My Mom and I watched them as they edged their way. My brother got ahead of himself and the next thing we see is my brother falling, screaming and hitting every bump on his way down and then seeing a large puff of sand as he hit the bottom. Yes he was very hurt. I believe he broke his collar bone or arm that time. He was very fortunate he wasn't above the rocks when he fell.
I am not a risk taker and I never truly enjoyed these outings unless I knew I would be in a safe situation. So one time we took a drive into Big Bear, CA during a winter storm. We took this trip in a VW Van known as a Kombie. My Dad kept taking us higher and higher up a road, into an isolated area of the mountain. Pretty soon, again, the road was barely wider than the van. And the road started to get steep and that's when danger took over. My Dad did not have snow chains and we started to slide backwards. My Dad was out of control. There were a couple times the screams were so loud as we knew at any time our van was going to slide off the edge of the road and plummet down some pretty steep cliff areas. I remember praying to God to get us out of that situation. My Mom was praying too and God had mercy on us and there was a wider area ahead of us that he was able to pull into and dangerously maneuver us back into the opposite direction to slowly make ourselves down that very thin road.
When I first became a Christian at 12 years old, I remember our church used to do a walk around neighborhoods in Inglewood offering tracts which contained our church beliefs. We were told we had a responsibility to share the gospel with everyone who hadn't heard it yet in our own neighborhoods. We didn't have to sail across the ocean to win souls for Christ. I know the importance of sharing the gospel as an adult and I thought I knew how important it was even at the young age of 12. However, I remember some of my first experiences of knocking on strangers doors to talk to them about Jesus. Oh my goodness, the screaming individuals that would answer the door and tell us where we could put our tracts about Jesus. I got to a point where I was completely intimidated by taking the risk of finding out who was on the other side of the door. I need to be honest, I did not enjoy this "good deed" we were trying to accomplish. I do not enjoy confrontation at all. I started being the person who just held onto the tracts and offered them if the person who answered the door was receptive. I made sure I had an outgoing spokesperson with me and would just join in the conversation once the opportunity afforded itself. I think this is where I learned that if a person is rude to you, you just wave goodbye and tell them to have a nice day and God Bless you. This usually ended with a very loud slamming door.
When I reflect back on these situations, I wonder if they were preparing me for the turbulent times my life would take at times as I grew older. I knew there were times when my stress level would reach the heights they reached as I experienced each one of these childhood memories. Fear is a terrible thing and takes a toll on your body. I guess one thing I learned was to not ever put my children into a situation where they did not feel safe or comfortable participating in an activity.
Isaiah 41:10 -- "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
- Philippians 4:6-7 -- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."e strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you."
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