Waiting

Singapore’s Handy Road Taxi Stand is new and extraordinarily convenient, at least for me.  Not only does it sit at the corner of Handy Road and Orchard, it also fronts the Cathay Theatre complex.  More importantly from a personal perspective is the simple fact that is sits right to the left of the escalator that leads to my apartment.  Given my early work habits, on most mornings it is a simple process of walking out to a quietly busy street and catching an available taxi within seconds, worst case a few minutes.
 
I knew today was going to be trouble.  Even as I headed out, I could see thunderclouds building in all directions.  The warnings signs were affirmed by the cold front’s wind slapping my face as I opened the door to the escalator.  The third strike came as I found an eerily silent street and two businessmen waiting in the Handy Road Taxi Stand.  The icy stares pointed my way as I walked up did little to brighten the scene.
 
We sat in silence, living in words within our minds.  No words.  No exchanges of any kind.  After an agonizing fifteen minutes, the first taxi arrived.  As strang
 
er #1 opened the taxi door he turned and said, “anyone heading for the Capital Building.”  “No, but thank-you”, I replied.
 
Turning to stranger #2, I mused, “I wondered if he was ever going to ask us where we were headed.”
 
A knowing smile was the sum total of our conversation for another ten minutes.  The silence was overwhelming.  I thought my invitation for a conversation was clear.  He should understand the bigger picture, right?
 
Ten minutes later, stranger #2 silently climbed into an available taxi sped away.  No words.  No questions.  Nothing.
 
We hold a great secret within us.   “It was our sins [selfishness] that did that [harm] to him [God], that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!  He took the punishment, and that made us whole.  Through his bruises we get healed.”  (Isaiah 53.5)
 
Occasionally some are curious.  I will not remain silent.