It was so hot. I could see the river ahead, cool and inviting. River? Well, maybe more like a large creek. Whatever. With a sigh, I plopped down in the shade on its bank, and took off my shoes. I wiggled my toes, anticipating the cool, sweet water flowing over my skin. Overhead, the leaves of the gumtrees hung in silence. Not a breath of air disturbed the heat. The mountains rose above the river, the sky an intense blue beyond. I could see fluffy white cumulus clouds starting to peek over their rim. With this heat, a thunderstorm was probably on its way. Maybe it would be a good idea to go for that swim now.
I stood up, and got out my towel. As I was about to spread it out on the pebbly beach, I realized with a start that I wasn’t alone. A man dressed in white stood nearby. I hadn’t seen him arrive, and I felt uneasy at his sudden appearance. He seemed to sense my concern, for he smiled at me.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I’m here to show you something.” His manner was gentle and kind and I relaxed a little. But I didn’t trust him. Not yet. He continued.
“You’ve had a lot of questions lately.” It was a statement rather than a question. I wondered how he knew about that. He smiled. “It’s ok. Go for your swim and cool off, and then we can talk.” He paused. “If you want to.” He turned and walked along the bank, back towards town, and was soon out of sight. I watched him go, wondering at the strange encounter. Then I shrugged. I really wanted that swim. It was what I was here for, after all. On a whim, I put on my goggles. I liked to look at the pretty pebbles on the bottom of the pool. It was like a whole different world under there, and it fascinated me.
I waded out into the cool water of the creek. It felt SO good on my legs and feet. When the sandy bottom turned to pebbles, I dived in and stuck my face in the underwater world. I saw a school of little fish not far away. A water beetle fled from my approach. But it was the pebbles, as always, that caught my attention. Today, with the bright sunlight on them, they glowed with intensity. I couldn’t resist them. They were beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, brown, and even a greenish colour. White striped through some of them. In the clear water, they were luminously beautiful. An underwater treasure trove of river jewels.
I found myself wondering where the pebbles came from. In places, I could see bare rock beneath them, where the current had washed them into piles. The rock was dark, and looked smooth and hard. The pebbles must have come from farther upstream, washed down with the floods. I started to think about the water itself, as a cooler current surrounded me momentarily. Where did it come from? I wondered. It passed, and soon the water felt warmer again. What forces were at work to create the world around me? The questions wouldn’t go away.
I swam to the other side of the creek. A rock face sloped down into the water. I climbed out and sat on an inviting ledge. The rock was hot, but I was cool and wet, so for the moment it was nice. I pondered my encounter with the man in white. It was odd, to say the least. I couldn’t help but feel that there was something meaningful about it. And I wondered why the swimming pool itself had stood out in such detail today – it demanded my attention. Thunder rumbled in the distance. I glanced at the distant ridge. The fluffy white clouds were much bigger now, their undersides black. Still, I wasn’t worried. It wouldn’t storm right away. I slipped back into the water to continue my swim. It closed around my body like liquid silk.
Some time later, I lay stretched out on my towel in the shade of the river oaks. I must have dozed off, because a massive thunderclap jolted me awake. Heart pounding, I sat up and looked around.I heard distant screams as the family swimming upstream hastily gathered their terrified children and bolted for the carpark. Not far away, the man in white sat on a rock. Seeing that I was awake, he stood up and walked towards me, smiling.
“We need to go up to the barbecue shelter,” he said. “There’s a big storm coming.” I wondered why he had stated the obvious. “I want you to watch what happens.” He looked at me with kind eyes. “I want to explain something to you.” He walked up the river bank. At the top, he stopped.
“Look!” he said, pointing to the river. A trickle of muddy water seemed to be fouling its clear beauty. As I watched, the river swelled in size. It became dark with mud. My eyes widened as I realized it was about to engulf the gravel bank I’d been snoozing on only moments earlier. Thank goodness the thunderclap had woken me up in time! The man seemed to read my thoughts.
“I’d have woken you up,” he said. A thunderous roar almost drowned out his words. I could hear it coming down the river, and stepped back from the bank in fear. A wall of muddy water rushed downstream, towering over the once peaceful swimming hole. Sticks, logs and other debris swept along with it as it swallowed up everything in its path. Within moments it had almost reached the top of the bank on which we were standing. I stood there for a moment, paralyzed by fear and shock. Then lightning struck just across the river, followed instantly by a thunderclap so loud that it pierced right through my body. I turned and fled, reaching the barbecue shelter just as sheets of rain began to fall. The man appeared beside me.
“It’s ok,” he yelled above the storm. “We’ll be safe here. Can you give me a hand?”He indicated one of the picnic tables. I got down the other end of it and helped him drag it up against the back wall of the shelter, as far away from the driving rain as possible. A gust of wind slammed into the wall, just as the hail began to fall. The noise of the water, along with the noise of the hail on the tin roof, was deafening.
I sat on the table with my hands over my ears and watched the cherry – sized hail turn the ground white. It bounced into the front of the shelter, and soon piles of it began to collect around the edges of the building. Water flowed around the legs of the table, and I was grateful to be able to sit on top of it. The temperature plummeted dramatically with the arrival of the hail, and I wrapped my still – damp towel around me to keep warm.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, the storm stopped. The torrents of rain ceased as abruptly as if someone had turned off a tap.The storm grumbled off to the east, and the piles of hail began to melt as the sun came out
.
“Come,” said the man in white. I’d almost forgotten he was there. “I have something to show you.” I hopped off the table, somewhat stiffly, and followed him towards the river bank. As we watched, the torrent dwindled away to a trickle, and soon the river was at its normal level. I was amazed at how quickly the flood had gone. Only the piles of debris left behind told the story of the torrent. Then I noticed something even stranger. As I watched, the muddy water cleared, and soon the river was its usual crystal clear, pristine self.
“What can you see?” the man in white startled me with his question.
“Well, I’m amazed at how quickly the water has cleared,” I said.
“What else do you notice?” he asked. I wondered what he was getting at. “Look again,” he said. I took a closer look at the water.
“They’re gone!” I cried. “All the beautiful pebbles are gone!” I was dismayed. I’d loved those pretty pebbles.
“What’s left?” the man asked.
“Nothing worth looking at,” I muttered. “It’s all gone.” I realized I sounded petulant.
“Look again,” he said.
“There’s only the rock left,” I replied. “Boring, bare rock.”
“But it’s still there, isn’t it?”
“Yesss….but it’s not pretty like the pebbles were.”
“But it’s still there. It’s solid and reliable. It forms the bed of the river. And it doesn’t get swept away in a flood.” I looked at him. His face was kind and earnest.
“Sooo….what are you trying to tell me?” I questioned.
“You’ve had a lot of questions lately, haven’t you?” he asked. I nodded. I’d been doing a lot of thinking.
“You’ve seen heartache all around you, and you’ve seen people’s lives torn apart. Things they’ve loved and believed in ripped away.” He stated it matter of factly, and I wondered how he knew. He continued.
“It’s caused you a lot of pain as well, hasn’t it?” I didn’t answer. I just didn’t want to go there. But he wasn’t deterred.
“And you’ve wondered what in the world you can depend on. Where you can turn for love and security.” I was a bit annoyed that a stranger would probe so deeply into my personal life, touching nerves that hurt.
“How do you know all this stuff?” I asked. He gave me a kind smile.
“It’s my job to know,” he said.
“So what’s the point of all this?” I asked. I did want to know, after all that.
“Well, you see, the river is like life. It goes through moods and seasons. Sometimes there are storms and floods, while at other times, it’s beautiful. Sometimes all the things we rely on for security and happiness get swept away.” He threw a stick into the water. I watched it float downstream, and thought about what he’d said. His voice broke into my thoughts.
“Sometimes we get attached to the wrong things.” I thought about the pretty pebbles, all gone now. Swimming wouldn’t be the same without them. He seemed to know what I was thinking.
“There are things in our lives like those pebbles,” he said. “They are there for us to enjoy, but we must remember that they are temporary. Not something we want to rely on for happiness and security.” As I watched, a stronger current came downstream, a remnant of the storm, perhaps. It lifted the water level slightly, creating a small, swirling eddy right in front of us.
“The water is like thoughts and feelings, and even circumstances, continually flowing through the river of life, continually changing. It changes with the events of life, the storms, the heat, the cold, and the rain. The water level dropped again as the extra water flowed downstream. I felt something inside me relax as I began to understand. I turned to the man.
“So what is constant?” I asked. “What can we rely on in life?” He studied my face for a moment.
“The rock,” he said simply. “God’s love is like the rock. It is the foundation of life and it underlies the beautiful things of life. Storms never sweep it away. It underpins all the events of life, even remaining solid when there’s a torrent of trouble. In fact, trouble uncovers it, because the things we depend on often get swept away. No matter what happens or how we feel, it’s there. I sat in silence and thought about his words. It dawned on me that this was why he’d come. The storm, the flood, his explanation…it had all been to illustrate a vital answer to my questions. I turned to the man.
“Thank you…” I began, then trailed off as I realized that I was alone. Totally and utterly alone. The man was nowhere to be seen. I looked around. The sun was shining, and the river made its way lazily towards the sea. The piles of debris were nowhere to be seen…and when I looked closely, beautiful pebbles sparkled up from the river bed.
© Kate Cox