five things

by Daniel Miller

The rain had been coming off and on for about two weeks. The engineers had given a warning that the residents of the small town under the dam were to evacuate and take what they could with them. The state would send busses for those that didn’t have transportation. The dam was going to burst even with the water that was already being released form the high water storage areas. The town would be flooded and insurance would have to pay for what couldn’t be salvaged.

Darren Pinney was a hard man. Through his years as a public prosecutor he had made some bad enemies along the way. That was before he came to this small town a couple of years ago. Now he worked as a lawyer for the small claims situations in this area. He made a respectable living from the cases he worked now. Retirement was good.

Jorge Rivas enjoyed his life where he lived. This small town was growing just enough to give him a paycheck and not want for anything. His young wife had given birth to his new daughter a few months ago. His little girl’s name was Angelica named after his mother. He was waiting to see her first steps and hear her call him ‘Dada’. He had always wanted a big family and now he was well on his way. Jorge had packed up what he could and sent his family to stay with relatives for the time being.

Michael worked at the corner convenience store. Everyone knew him as a nice guy that helped others when he could. As a single man he was comfortable in his two-room apartment. He was known for giving candy to people wrapped in Bible scriptures.

“All civilians are to evacuate the area immediately the busses will be leaving in five minutes. Space is limited so everyone is limited to taking what they can carry. This is the final warning. Busses leave in five minutes.” The voice came from a loudspeaker in the streets. The police were making sure everyone was out of town before the dam let go.

“Where was that case?" Darren thought. “Ah, there it is.” Here took the time to fill it with the stocks and bonds and a few other papers.

Jorge met Michael and Darren out in the street. They were reluctant neighbors who seldom talked to each other except in passing at the corner store. Now they were left on the pavement watching as the final bus turned the corner. The three men took off at a fast run yelling at the busses trailing away. After about half a block all three men slowed up breathing heavy. None of them were in that good of shape. The three saw the water rising behind them as the levy was being overrun by the water overflowing the dam. That water sure was coming up fast.

“I sent my wife away with my car. Didn’t I see you with a Mercedes last week?” Jorge asked Darren.

“Yeah, it’s sitting in my garage. Underground. It was flooded out yesterday when I woke up. How about you Mike? Where’s your car?”

“I’m not allowed to drive because of the possibility of seizures. I live less than a block from work and ride a bike when I need to go anywhere else. I can’t even ride that now that I have a flat. Besides, my apartment is already flooded. I had to walk through waist high water to get out. With the way the water is coming up, it’s too deep to get it now anyway.” Michael replied.

“We’ll have to walk out of here. None of these buildings here are going to hold if that dam goes. They expected it to go about an hour ago. We’re on borrowed time now.” Darrell complained.

Walking out of town the three moved as a trio keeping together. The rising water kept kept pace with them. With Hudson Heights built in a bowl shaped valley, communication was kept to a minimum with hills blocking most radio signals. About the only thing that came through was from satellites. The area was a terrible place to be during a flood. This winter had been very snowy adding to the flooding making this a record flood.

“CRACK!” the dam was starting to give way.

“Hurry! Get inside the old warehouse. It’s probably the strongest building in town. It was made to store steel when the mill was open. That should hold long enough for us to wait for help.” Jorge suggested.

“You got my vote.” Michael agreed.

“Let me at that door.” Darrell called out as he hit the door with his shoulder.

As the trio entered the warehouse, Darrel complained. “God sure does hate this town. For over three years we have suffered from the mill closing and now this happens. What does the old man want from us now?”

“Hold on there partner. Don’t go blaming God for this. That old dam was built over fifty years ago. The engineers said that it wasn’t going to last because of the mining underground taking away the bedrock that it sets on. That’s why the mill closed and that’s why the dam is in trouble now. There is nothing holding it up.” Michael said in an irritated defense.

“You two can talk more about this later. Right now we need to get to the second floor before this water gets deeper.” Jorge stated angrily. The water was coming up to their ankles at the moment.

On the second floor, the three found a pile of pallets in a second floor receiving area. This must have been where the supplies were kept while in storage. There was a door in the end of the building where the supplies must have been delivered.

“That was scary man. We almost didn’t make it. You two got anything we can use?” Jorge asked.

“Let me see here. I have nothing that can be of much use here. I’ve got a bunch of papers, a law book, my house deed, and my insurance papers. Oh I’ve also got my cell phone here.” Darrel pulled it out of his pocket in pieces. “Oh no. it must have broken when I hit that door. Just one more thing on top of the flood.”

“I have my photo album, some cigs and a lighter. I also have my tools here in my pockets. I was building up some window covers to stop the water. I can build a wall if I need to but not much more.” Jorge commented.

“You can do more than that. That lighter can light a fire if it gets too cold. We have some wood here in these pallets and this concrete floor isn’t going to catch fire too soon.” Michael exclaimed directing him to do so.

“I have something that might help us out here. I brought my pocket scanner. I also brought along my survival kit, my medicine, a small pocket knife, and most important my Bible.”

“What in the world did you bring that for? Fairy tales aren’t going to do anything except give us something to read when the flood takes out this building.” Darrel blurted out.

“I’ve had just about enough of this!” Michael exclaimed. “You may not believe in God but that is your opinion. In my experience, I have had Him bring me through my condition to bring me back to good health. Just four years ago I couldn’t even walk. I was stuck in a wheelchair and told that I would stay that way for life. When I had the church elders pray for me, I was able to walk from that day. The doctors still don’t know how it happened. Since then the doctors have me on medicine that they say I need but they still can’t tell me why. They say it is to prevent seizures but I haven’t had any since that day four years ago.

“You can deny God all you want, but I have seen his work in my life. He has brought me through worse than this and I believe that he will see me through this now. Stay around and you can see Him work his wonders. I’m amazed every time how He makes thing work out.”

Darrell laughed, “You believe all that you want if that’s what you need to get you to do your part through this. Just don’t sit there and wait for something to happen.”

“I will sit here for now. I have my scanner that will let us know where the authorities are and when they will be coming for survivors.” Michael condescended.

“You two shut up and quit your bickering. We need to have a plan to get us out of here. Get something on that radio and see what we can find out about getting out of here.” Jorge was agitated.

“…weather radio reporting at the sight of the former Hudson Heights Damn. The dam has cracked and is leaking tens of thousands of gallons of runoff. The dam officials have revealed that the dam is expected not to hold but will break up some time tomorrow evening sending a wave of water that will wash over the whole area. The weather is not expected to let up enough for a search for any survivors although officials claim to have had a successful 100% evacuation of the Hudson Heights area.” The scanner reported.

“It looks like we have to stay here for the night. What does your Bible say about that God boy?” Darrell scoffed.

“You really want to know? Let me see here In Matthew chapter six Jesus tells about how God provides for the animals and the flowers and that he cares for us even more. Verse thirty-three and thirty-four says, ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’ Put God first and he will supply your needs. Right now we need some rest. Those pallets over there can make a decent place to sleep. You can use some of that tarp rolled up as a pillow.”

Darrel grumbled incoherently as he lay down to sleep.

“Man he sure does have something against God. I just want to get back to my family. My wife and daughter are special. Look at their pictures here in the firelight. That is my Carmelita. I met her when I helped her father build a new room onto his house. She brought us out some lemonade and made us some good home cooked meals. That was four years ago. Since then my little Angelica was born. She is going to be the first in my family to go to college. My life is to make things better for her than I had them. I got to get back to her.”

“Let’s get to sleep now. We can decide what to do to get you back with them in the morning.” Michael comforted.

The morning came with a loud ‘BANG’.

“That rat looked rabid. Look at it foaming from the mouth. It must have come out looking for a place out of the flood. I hope we don’t have too many of them come at us. I only have a few more bullets. You know, this gun came from the Alamo. My great grandfather picked it up when they overran it. He was in the Mexican army working on the cannon crews.” Jorge explained.

“Let’s pray to God that we don’t have anymore of those come at us again.” Michael remarked.

“You just don’t get it do you? There is no God that is going to save us we are doomed. When that dam goes, we will be under water. We are all going to drown. And there is nothing that you or me or God can do about it.” Darrell fumed.

“Psalms fifty three verse one says ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.’ Is that what you are saying?” Michael asked.

“You just don’t get it do you? We are stuck here without a way out of this. Do you have a scripture about that?” Darrell challenged.

“You bet. I’ll even do better than that. Here is my Bible open it anywhere you want and God will tell us what to do.” Michael challenged back.

Opening the Bible defiantly, Darrell made a big show of mockery. When he looked at the scripture, he laughed. “Now look at that. I told you that there isn’t any God.”

“What’s the scripture?” Jorge asked.

“Genesis chapter six verse fourteen.” Darrell revealed. “It says we should make an ark of gopher wood. What are we gonna do now? Go cut some trees from the forest?”

“You know that just might work. We have the pallets here and I saw some barrels over on the other side of the warehouse. They will float. We can make a raft out of the pallets if we have something to hold them together.” Jorge explained.

“I got to be crazy. Do you have any rope in your pack God boy?” Darrel asked.

“Not enough to make a raft.” Michael divulged.

“Then we can’t make a raft.” Darrell commented spitefully.

Michael bowed his head and started to pray out loud. “Lord, I don’t know how you are going to do it but I need your guidance. Thank you for your kindness and mercy. In Jesus name I pray. Amen”

“How do you think that’s going to help?” Darrell jibbed.

Jorge laughed out loud.

“You see even he doesn’t think your God will help.” Darrell commented further.

“That’s not what I’m laughing at. Do you see what I see? Yards of raft making material all over. We can use the old wiring in this place to tie the pallets together. We can tie some barrels underneath to make it float and use a couple of pallet pieces for paddles. Let’s make an ark.” Jorge directed.

The three worked together making a worthy craft in just a few hours. The rain stopped just as they finished tying on the last piece.

“Do you think this thing is going to hold up in that rushing water?” Darrell asked.

“I’ve made a few rafts in my time growing up as a kid. This one should hold for a little while. I know this building has been through a lot but I don’t think it is going to hold together much longer. I heard some cracking last night and looked outside. Some debris smacked up against the side and took out part of the lower wall. We have to get out of here quickly before this place goes down. We should be able to get this thing out of the supply door with the way the water’s been coming up.”

The three worked pushing the raft out of the door.

“Don’t forget your Bible kid. You might need that later on.” Darrell commented as he got on the raft.

“I have it right here. “ Michael replied.

The three rowed out of the area away from the warehouse. The water was full of debris from the flood. A few of the houses were still standing but most were underwater or floating away. No one else was in sight.

BOOM! It sounded like a bomb had gone off. The three could see as the last of the dam as it fell letting a rush of water come at them. The warehouse began to sway and fell out of sight into the flood.

“Another five minutes and we would have still been in there. What in the world held that thing up?” Darrell exclaimed amazed.

“I said that you would see wonders if you stayed around. My God is more powerful than this or any other flood. Thank the Lord for giving us a way out and back to safety.”

“We are not safe yet but still you are thanking God for it. I don’t understand. How can you thank God for something He hasn’t done yet?” Jorge asked.

“I believe God put us three here for a reason. I believe God will see me through it.” Michael answered.

“Oh that’s hogwash…” Darrell’s words were cut off by the roaring of helicopter blades.

The Scanner crackled into life, “Base, this is rescue one, we have three survivors on a makeshift raft. We will be attempting rescue. Please be advised that we have not seen any other survivors and do not expect to find any others alive. We will pick up and return to base. Chopper one rescue out.”

Aboard the helicopter, the pilot spoke up. “To tell you the truth we didn’t expect to find anyone left alive here. That old warehouse was supposed to be demolished a year ago when the mill shut down. Lucky for you three it wasn’t. You must have had someone looking out for in there.”

Darrell burst out in tears.

What is important to you? If you had five minutes to take five things with you, what would those things be? This is what you consider most important to you. Things are replaceable. What is most important to you? Is it your faith in God or is it the money and riches that you want to keep at all costs. Maybe it is an heirloom like the pistol in this story or even some pictures. When tragedy strikes it is no time to think of anything else than to believe in God’s perfect will for your life.

For Christians who believe, God can do anything. Jesus said that if we had the faith of the size of a mustard seed, that we could move mountains. During different times in your life, God will let you go through situations that may seem unfair and unkind at the time. It is at these times that we must cling to the fact that God is in control and He will see us through. You may be there as a witness or as a test of your faith. Remember that God is more powerful than any situation that you may find yourself in. We are to be conquerors in Christ and not under the circumstances. Remember greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.

If you do not know Christ as your Savior, you have nothing to help you except your own self. The scriptures say that the only way to have Christ as your Savior is to accept His sacrifice on the cross as your payment for your sins. You must ask for his mercy and turn to him to be your God and give Him the control of your life.