Noah's Wife

I've never stopped to ponder what the wife of the infamous Ark-builder was actually like. Strangely though, she has recently become a comfortable companion for me-- a friend, whom I can warmly sit and relate to her story.

As a boy mom, we both know the pangs of being punched, bruised, and yelled at in the names of love and hate. She welcomed three daughters in-law, into the family. (I'm sure she could shed a lot of wisdom I have yet to obtain.) I on the other hand welcomed a fourth son into our family.

When she heard the grand plan for moving the whole gang into a boat and adding every animal known to man, did Noah's wife feel like a woman moving into a small RV with four boys full of testosterone? Were the animals on the ark constantly wrestling, squawking, complaining, and roaring like the boys in my "boat"?

When she wasn't given a timetable or a break, did she panic and question her husband? Or did God Himself whisper and wink sweet assurances that she was exactly where she needed to be? When Noah kept waiting after the birds that were sent out and later returned, did she become impatient? When they finally left the boat and landed in a beautiful tuscan-like hill country, did she feel lonely by the vast landscape or nearer to God through His gorgeous rainbow?

Were her daughters in-law the female friends God sent to spur her on towards good works? Or did she miss the women who knew her when she was young? Did she judge her husband's choices like Abraham's wife and try to cajole him in a different direction, or did she rest easy knowing her husband's obedience had saved their lives?

There are so many years, so many small details, and so many grand emotions never spoken about in the Bible, but I'm blessed to believe and to know that Noah's wife, like Abraham's, left what was comfortable in order to gain something far better. When we leave that which is easy and embrace the hard unknowns of life, we enter into the reality of God. Truly knowing Him without question.

“All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God." (Isaiah 40:9-12)

Some people can stay in their homes and witness God everywhere because they are tested in their comfort. Others must leave and face the test of discomfort in order to constantly be witnesses for God. "For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:3-4)

We all have different callings. We are not defined by our callings, but by our relationship to God, which only comes through Christ. It is only through the work in our discomfort that we can really know who God is because without faith, we cannot know God.

I had to GO to really KNOW. Did Noah's wife?

~Getting off the Ark, Carefully & Carelessly