By Rosie Moore

Yes, it finally rained. Not a whole lot but enough to make the flowers and other flora give a sigh of relief. And it also has gotten cooler, making it seem that autumn is finally arriving. Whenever I think of rain, I think of Noah, that great shipbuilder in the Bible. The story of Noah and the Flood is a familiar one it is often recounted as one of both God’s anger with humanity and God’s covenant with Noah. But it’s also a story of faithful waiting. When Noah follows God’s command to build an ark, there was no sign of rain. The people around him think he’s crazy, but Noah persists, patiently following God’s instructions. Scripture does not tell us what Noah does or thinks while waiting for the storm to cease and the waters to recede, but we know that, “Noah did everything the Lord commanded him.”

Waiting faithfully is always an act of hope and trust in God. There are many instances in our lives when waiting is part of our daily curriculum. When we’re young, waiting seems to last forever. Waiting for summer, waiting to graduate from school, waiting find the right mate in life, the list goes on and on. To wait on the answers to our prayers is a never-ending journey that we feel will never end. But God eventually answers them according to His purposes.

If life would commence on an even keel with rain, snow, sun, heat, and cold evenly distributed, we wouldn’t have to be patient, but life is not like that. This is why patience and waiting enters our lives. If one doesn’t have patience, then the events that happen will not be appreciated as they should be. Remember, “Curiosity killed the cat” but my grandmother always added, “But patience brought him back.”

Thought for the day: We will never learn to be brave and patient, if there was only joy in the world.     Helen Keller

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