As Sanjeev and I wrapped up a great afternoon of conversation, I turned and looked at the dark clouds hovering above the botanical gardens. The clouds did not seem to be moving, so I turned my attention to my guest. It was getting time for both of us to head out for different appointments. Sanjeev had decided that he was up to experiencing Singapore’s bus system. As I explained the processing of boarding, swiping one’s cash card, and all, I offered to walk with him to the bus stop to explain o read the maps to find the right bus.
As we walked and talked, I did not notice anything particularly unusual in the clouds. It was and remained a gray day. As we reached the bus shelter, everything changed! The skies went from light gray to black. The heavy tropical air was filled with oversized raindrops. Everyone in the open was running for shelter. It felt as though the heavens had decided to dump an endless pan of water on us.
The intensity soon became even more tangible with the river flower under our shoes. The initial gentle water trickles soon became an inch plus deep stream that was as wide as the bus stop. As in flowed left to right, I found myself looking for nonexistent higher ground. Water was everywhere! Pouring, drifting in a midst from our left and right, and flowing across our shoes and feet.
I looked for a reason to understand why the shelter was under attack. It was soon obvious that the flow from high to low reached a focal point with our location. The hill behind contributed. The slow of the street played to this point. Even the angle of the roof worked to make the stream deeper and wider.
I kept looking for a single source only to realize the reality of a description written long ago; “above the floodwaters is God’s throne from which his power flows, from which he rules the world.” (Psalm 29.10) A force far greater than me had made a statement.
