They sought shade and the soothing sound of moving water. It was barely raining when they fell asleep, lulled by the gurgle of the Guadalupe River. But hours later, the river would swell with torrential rainfall. It would spill its banks and claim the lowlands. It would take the lives of more than 100 campers and Hill Country residents. Days later 161 people are still missing. We are all praying for Texas.

Who hasn’t been riveted by the images coming out of Texas these last few days? The sodden t-shirts and stuffed animals that mark these historic floods as especially deadly to children. The walls of water. Cars and trucks floating in the flood.

We’ve entered a new era, a harsher and more deadly one. It’s not just Texans who need our prayers. It’s everyone threatened by floods and fires and dangerous heat — in other words, an awful lot of us.

(Placid water in Houston’s Hermann Park)