The desk where I sit and write becomes messy quickly and needs frequent de-cluttering. Even when I’ve filed all the papers, put the pens and glasses away and removed the dirty dishes, there’s one item that always stays: my Scripture rocks.

When Nate and I first heard that his cancer would take his life, we resisted accepting what we’d been told. I remember the morning after his diagnosis. My sister Mary had rushed from the Chicago area to Michigan to do what she could, and that next morning I found a beach stone sitting atop my kitchen counter with her writing on it.

It was a Scripture passage meant to encourage both Nate and I, which it did. (See “A Rocky Road,” October 10, 2009.) Two days later I found another rock, and over the next few weeks, nine more, always when we needed them most.

In addition to the Bible verses on each one, the stones were a continual reminder that our lives were built on the solid Rock, Jesus Christ. It helped to know when life became unstable, that this firm foundation would never be shaken.

Earlier this week in Christchurch, New Zealand, everyone and everything was badly shaken by a major earthquake. Buildings collapsed. People were injured or killed. Hundreds have not been found.

Our son Nelson and other leaders at the Youth With A Mission base nearby heard the ominous rumbling immediately before the ground began shaking, most experiencing their first quake. No one at the base was hurt, and they quickly sent representatives to Christchurch to help. In coming days, many more opportunities will present themselves, and these leaders, along with the students who begin arriving this weekend, will do what they can.

Most of us walk around thinking we have a measure of control over our lives. In reality, it doesn’t take more than a few seconds to shake us badly, either physically (an earthquake) or emotionally (cancer). Both can come without warning. Both can snuff out lives. What, then, is unshakeable?

My Scripture rocks.

The words they represent have the power to remain standing through natural disasters, diseases and everything in between. From those verses, come some unshakeable guarantees: the Lord is a stronghold in times of trouble, a firm place to stand, my refuge, a strong tower, a Rock eternal; he wipes away my tears, restores my soul, puts a song in my mouth; he’ll never forsake me, will set me on a high rock, will not allow me to be shaken.

But we were shaken by Nate’s cancer, and the citizens of Christchurch were shaken by the earthquake. So are these verses lying? No. They’re describing truth that applies to our hearts, souls and minds, the real us. As Nate discovered during his last days, everything was taken from him except one thing: the Lord. Earthquake victims learned that same reality this week, and eventually we’ll all experience it.

This truth makes us tremble until we look at what Jesus said on Mary’s heart-shaped rock:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)