I was expecting that it would be a regular Sunday night, except for the fact that it was raining continuously. A friend of mine decided that the weather was no longer conducive for driving, but it didn’t seem that way from where I was (home).
I decided to sleep, but was unable to, as there were more santol banging on the roof above me. It was perhaps almost midnight when I heard a very loud crash, followed by smaller ‘thuds’, that seemed to come from just above me. I looked out the window and saw absolute darkness, so I alighted from my elevated bed and turned the lights on:
That moment, I realized that I was five feet away from being impaled on the head. So I quickly thanked God for being spared, and quickly called my brother for us to assess the situation.
Apart from the impaled roof and ceiling, the horizontal beam above the western wall cracked, causing a leak along the length of the wall, which caused half the room to be considerably wet. The electricity went out shortly after the picture was shot.
Not wasting any time, me and my brother went up to the roof to assess the situation, and chopped the impaling branch that protruded from the main. The main branch that caused the large thud was a little longer than a car, with the same diameter as an average adult’s thigh, and probably weighed the same as 3-4 sacks of rice. Climbing up and down the 3 levels of our roof was already a risk in itself – from the wind, sharp and rusty metal, slippery objects and brittle footholds.
This experience has made me reaffirm the fleeting nature of life, as expressed in a song by Casting Crowns (“Who am I”):
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
What I expected to be an average night turned into a life threatening and action-packed race against time and water. The roof above our heads can provide us with little security from nature, let alone from the God who controls it.
Moral of the Story:
Be ready for anything, even your possible untimely demise.
Love the Lord wholeheartedly, as it may be your last chance to do so (ang hirap no?)
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ – Luke 12:20
