Friday, September 08, 2006


Why The Ark?
For those of you who don't know the story of Noah and the ark, here's a brief summary: Noah, faithful follower of God and certifiable senior citizen, married with three kids is commanded by God to build a giant, wooden ark to survive the destruction of all mankind (and animal kind). Short of Noah's family and the pairs of every kind of animal brought on to the ark (land animals of course; water animals just stayed in the, well, water) everything would perish. So, 100 years (or, for the sake of argument, a REEAALLY long time ) later the ark is complete, the flood comes and Noah's family survives the storm so to speak. A rainbow comes out and God promises "never again!"

But, what you ask, does this have to do with us? Well, for those of you who know me from HA mom's group, you'll know that during our last year's scripture study we talked about this story at one point from the perspective of Noah's courage to do what God asked. I mean really, if YOUR neighbor just up and started building a ginormous wooden sailing ship in the back yard with the promise of a great flood and then, when the animals started to board...well, at the very least, you might not have invited Noah and his family to the next block party, or perhaps you'd alert the neighborhood association about this eyesore "parked" in the yard or as a last resort, call in the authorities about the crazy old guy living next door.

So, in our scripture study, we talked about being brave and doing what we felt God called each of to do, whether it was met with strange looks or comments from others. (Not that anyone would look at a family of 6 and look strangely at the parents for adding two more children by-dare we say-conscious choice) And we asked each other the question, "Are you building your ark?" to which my friend, AM, quickly responded, "Ohmygosh! You guys are TOTALLY building an ark!" I am pretty certain she meant we were answering our call and not that we were the crazy neighbors next door.

So our story is either brave or crazy, but either way, we're building the ark.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE IT! What a great first entry into your BLOG! I can't wait to read more about the world through patjrsmom's eyes. I'm so glad you have entered the blogosphere. You are an inspiration.

Anonymous said...

YES the almighty blogosphere! I think you guys have the nicest ark on the block.

Not to mention that the "certifiable senior citizen" bit was a very nice touch!

Julie Cooper said...

It is so funny that you posted this about Noah's Ark and being the "crazy" neighbor. While I was working a trade show yesterday, someone whom I've known for years said sincerely to me, "I know it's none of my business, but why in the world would you adopt two kids at once and why would you want to have four kids?" I replied, "Well, I understand where you are coming from, and I think that one needs to be a little crazy to do it." :) You said that you are either brave OR crazy. Hey, maybe you are both... and what's wrong with that?!
Julie
P.S. Great blog!

Mary Beth Groom said...

So psyched about your blog!!! I love AM's comment too:). You guys are building an ark. You guys truly inspire..

Mary Beth Groom said...

Great job. I love you post. Ready for more! AM nailed it-you are building an ark! You are an inspiration.