In a world that seems to be spinning out of control—where ‘up’ is ‘down’ and lies are normative, where corruption grows and neighbours threaten, where stock markets shake and borders are breached, and where our incredulity at incessant trolling is leaving us exhausted—I had a moment of peace, sitting on a bench, facing the Rocky Mountains.
All is not lost, I thought. These mountains are still here.
With the sun on my face, I took a few deep breathes and started to feel grounded again. For just a few seconds all was still and the world was as it should be.
In the quietness of that place, I thought I saw the curvature of the earth along the ridge of the mountain range.
Contemplating the planetary nature of our trembling world, I remembered a YouTube video I saw years ago that asked, “How fast are you moving right now?” The obvious answer was “not at all”—if you’re stationary and watching a video. But then the narrator reframes the question, “But what about relative to the rest of the universe?” The clip goes on to describe how fast we are really moving.
Sitting on a bench in Calgary, I was spinning around the earth’s axis at 1056 kph. As that was happening, the earth was orbiting the sun at 107,290 kph. As that was happening, the sun was moving toward other stars at 69,202 kph, even as it was moving upward—relative to the Milky Way plane—at 24,140 kph. In addition to all of this, the Sun was orbiting the center of the Milky Way, moving at 777,313 kph, meaning I was moving at about 869,046 kph as a Solar System. Of course, the Milky Way was also moving through the universe—at approximately 2,092,147 kph. Altogether, I was moving through the universe at a combined mind-boggling speed!
Sitting there I felt a breeze.
It reminded me of how the bible often describes the Spirit of God in wind-like terms. I was not alone, and things were more held than I knew. Even if the earth’s foundations are shaking, it is still very much in orbit. Even though ‘forces for good’ in our world seem to be changing, some things will never change.
We are on a bigger trajectory than we know— a larger and longer story is being told. Even as the earth is just a tiny speck in an infinite universe, it’s still firmly held in place.
Your life is held in place. You’re breathing.
Your heart is beating, neurons are firing, and your immune system is fighting unseen invaders. You have a home, food to eat, and people who care for you. Right now, your DNA is repairing itself tens of trillions of times per second, your brain is producing natural opioids if you’re stressed, and the trees in your neighbourhood are miraculously forming buds—"like something almost being said” (Philip Larkin, The Trees)
Looking at the Rockies, words from the prophet Jeremiah came to mind—words that connect God’s promises to his people to God’s faithfulness in sustaining creation:
“This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is his name: Only if these decrees vanish from my sight, declares the Lord, will Israel (Canada) ever cease being a nation before me.” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)
Only if hundreds of billions of galaxies cease to exist, and all matter disappears, and molecular bonds fail, will God ever cease to do the right thing and care for us.
Creation is a credible witness—it offers clear evidence of God’s trustworthiness. The Maker of all things holds all things. While economies shake and wars destroy and neighbours falter, God will not.
A comforting thought while flying through the universe sitting on a bench.
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