“… on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Gen. 7:11, 12)
Yup, a memory verse to go along with today’s devotion, folks! Heehe.
I was caught in a flood today while driving to KK for an appointment with several shoe stores. Well, I didn’t make it cause half-way down town, right after Telipok, the traffic came to a crawl. It was raining earlier but I ignored it thinking it might be dry where I was heading. Ahead of us was a river of waters that was rising every minutes. Apparently the monsoon drain or ravine on both sides of the roads overflowed. I could hardly see the roads and smaller vehicles like my Kelisa had already stopped moving. Some scooted to the side of the road, as if by doing so they’ll not get in the way of the swollen “river”. I too stopped at the side of the road. In fact I was lucky I stopped next to a gate of a workshop.
Several minutes later, waters were above knee level and in fact some parts of the road could be waist level especially for shorties like me. By this time only the bigger vehicles like the Land Cruiser, Toyota Hilux and lorries dared to wade the torrent waters. A few of us asked permission from the grumpy owner of the workshop to open his gates for us so we could park our cars on a safer ground. He was also picky with whom he would allow into his compound… Whatever. But I’m glad he allowed me in cause I got worried the waters were gonna go wild and sweep my little car away.
Well, eventually the waters receded. In fact it stopped raining. We waited and watched. Watched and waited. A group of drivers, passengers and observers. Most of us looked like wet rats, a mismatched party-goers that missed the party. After almost three hours the waters went low enough for medium-sized vehicles to pass through. Pa came by to accompany me, ready to save me just in case a tsunami came.
Well, certainly my experience today is only a speck of dust compared to major floods that covered entire cities or towns. But the panic, the fear and the anxiety we feel are the same. Still another, the universal deluge (or so we were told and I still believe), far more catastrophic. Hmmm, I can’t imagine being in Noah’s shoes. I’d rather be one of those animals that went inside the ark than go through the pain of knowing the unknown.
Actually, all I need to do is learn how to swim. Then this wouldn’t sound so exaggerated. Kan??
(Btw, the pictures above aren’t mine. Sekadar gambar hiasan.)
