genesis 8-11

--personal thoughts--

all personal thoughts this morning. we are at passion 2012, a conference for young adults in atlanta and got in to our hotel after 130 am this morning...so, with a full day ahead, i'm gonna need to get a little more sleep. but...i wanted to get this to you, friends, while your day is starting. i haven't had my study time yet today, but just read chap 8 and am so excited about being able to relate to noah a little bit. i can't wait to go deeper, but for now, i am thinking about the raven and the dove.

scripture tells us that noah opened the window of the ark sending the raven out first...v 9 says "...he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself." very cool. have you ever held a bird on your hand?

my son, salem, got a beautiful little parakeet for his eighth birthday this past year. it is sooooo sweet. the first few days we had "peace-bird," he was so quiet and afraid of us. i distinctly remember first hearing his chirp and song...and thinking...awww, he is feeling more comfortable here. then, as we became more bold, peace-bird let us hold him. such an awesome feeling to have a bird's little claw feet grasping your finger.

as i think about noah's comfort level with the animals on the ark, i think about the longevity of their stay together/the time in that enclosed space. when noah's family left the boat-home... it says, (v 19) "every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark." i imagine the wide wooden ramp with clunky hooves and padded paws thudding down to land. they had spent many days confined together with their caretakers.

noah had walked through the assignment God had given him and was able to experience His faithfulness so very clearly as they embraced dry land. as he was building, i wonder what noah wondered...i imagine their first few days and weeks of motion-sickness and sadness and their interactions with the animals. the work had to be so hard. and...i relate. i look at my assignments today...what i am called to...and some days, it's very hard. so very tiring. but with quiet hope and sustaining stillness in my spirit, i hold on for the day when i am able to look back and rejoice in His faithfulness...seeing how He used me/Jesus in me to accomplish His purposes....