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So who is declared winner? The good Lord or the TCDC?

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August 12, 2025

Battle regarding the point of entry of the river to the ocean.

BY GORDON T

It was a nice sunny day recently that encouraged me to go for a walk, deciding my purpose as being a stroll down to the river mouth of the village’s main river. I was curious to see how humankind, represented by the TCDC, was progressing with its battle to alter the good Lord’s will regarding the point of entry of the river to the ocean.

Upon approaching the area I sat at a barbeque table for a wee rest and took out my hip flask for a rejuvenating tipple when, surprise of surprises, the Baptist pastor came along and sat beside me.

“I see the good Lord has provided once more” he said while keeping his eyes fixed on the hip flask. Resigning myself to the inevitable, I offered, but he declined. I took a thirsty swig. “Are you here to see the good Lord’s triumphant work with the river mouth?” he asked. I nodded. “Sort of, I was really wondering how the TCDC were progressing with their battle to keep the river mouth in place.” The Pastor took a quick breath then announced, “If you want to battle God’s servant, Nature, you had better bring along people with strength and wisdom. I haven’t noticed the TCDC hiring such people.” He was a mix of cynicism and hopefulness.

I responded. “The block wall seems to be holding up and stopping the creek from moving further south. I guess the TCDC of yesteryear was capable of such things”. The Pastor looked at the wall and again, slightly disapprovingly, at my hip flask. I took a good swig. He remarked, “That wall will not last. Nature cannot be tamed. It is Nature’s will that rivers always reach sea exactly where God wants them to”. That got me thinking.

I responded thoughtfully “Well that doesn’t work with the Dead Sea. That sea is still looking for an exit. Some plan; instead of adding to an ocean, your God has created a salty puddle. You seem to be ignoring humankind’s victories over nature in places like the Netherlands. Seems the Lord’s plans can be controlled, or maybe God is just random.”

“Random! Random! Wash your mouth out,” the Pastor replied. After a brief pause , he continued. “All of God’s works are planned. It cannot be any other way. Do you think God created the universe by accident?”

I ignored his question but continued to challenge the idea of a higher plan. “What about genocide – of Jews in Germany and by Jews in Gaza? Invasion and slaughter in the Ukraine. All planned?” I questioned. The Pastor breathed deeply before saying, “The Jews have just proven that God’s plan is to make humankind capable of learning works. It is just that the way Israel has applied these lessons is probably not intended, and Russia has already been sent its first warning by the good Lord”.

I had to raise a quizzical eyebrow to the last statement so the Pastor explained “The earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Russia, a very stern warning from our Lord.”.“Possibly,” I responded before continuing. “The Russian politicians are thousands of miles from that point. I think that just confirms your God is random in his/her actions”.

The Pastor was starting to get. Impatient, and he protested. “If you want random, just look at your local council. They have shown that they can build walls to control the oceans and rivers, and then they announce that their thinking now is that everybody should retreat. A ‘Managed Retreat’ they call it. Looks more like bureaucratic surrender to me.”

The Pastor had certainly given me reason to think. How were we going to protect our village and homes from the forces of nature when both sides in the battle are guilty of seemingly unplanned random actions?

Maybe we just need better forces on our side – strength and wisdom. Possibly, we should let private enterprise run things, A dance partner that is light on his/her feet can often provide a better outcome.