When the Winds Howl at Dawn.......

 

The room feels like it is air conditioned with 24 deg. Celsius

 

Wow! 22 deg. Celsius - the lowest temperature ever shown on my thermometer



This morning I woke up at dawn. It was kind of cool and somewhat windy. Later, as I was reading, I heard the howling of the wind, and the rain became heavy. I closed my windows and to my surprise, I could hear the howling of the wind. Though somewhat musical, nevertheless the music sounded eerie and somewhat scary, like the music you would hear in movies when ghosts are about to appear or something tragic is about to take place.

I could see the young trees on the ground swaying vigorously. As the foliage of the trees are heavier because of some branches, the skinny trunks look like they would be broken anytime by the strong winds. Wow, if the strong winds already appear to be somewhat frightening, what are tornadoes and tsunamis like?

The only even more powerful winds I had witnessed was when I was in secondary school. My cousin, Sim and I had gone to Penang Road to catch some movies. When the heavy rains came down, we took shelter at a coffee shop near the cinema and had our lunch. Suddenly I saw a huge rubbish bin being swept up into the air and it landed on the roof of the now defunct Rex Cinema. Fortunately no one was hurt, because the movie had not yet started. The chopsticks and cloths of the stall holders started flying around. It was scary. I could never forget that afternoon, when my cousin and I watched movie in a cinema with half the roof gone! Incredible. On reflection, the cinema should have just refunded the patrons their money for their purchased tickets, because it could be quite dangerous to be in a cinema with half the roof gone! Luckily nothing untoward happened. Well, those were the days!

The lowest temperature I had recorded was 25 deg. Celsius. Yet, it seemed to be even cooler this morning, and I guessed the temperature could be lower than 25 deg.
I was right! It was 24 deg.! I thought of the people who might be out on the roads at dawn. Helen, my neighbour, would probably be making her way to her food stall to prepare food. I hope she would not be thoroughly soaked by the heavy rain. At moments like this, when the winds and rain are at their most ferocious, I think of Noah and the Ark. Truly we need to be dependant on God for blessings all the time, just like Noah did.

It seemed to be even colder and when I checked my thermometer again, the reading was
22 degree Celsius! Wow! The lowest I have ever recorded!

These few nights have been quite cool, and I need not even turn on my ceiling fan.
I only turned on my air conditioner when the haze was around, for it caused my eyes to tear.

Happiness is when I could keep my utilities bill low and greater happiness is when I looked out of my windows, and saw that none of the young trees in my estate have been broken! It is like an analogy for us. When we go through the storms of life and the tempests of torment and sufferings, God is still there for us to protect us and to give us strength, peace, comfort and joy, because in Him we trust.

Gan Cao