Noah's Wife, Chapter 2

The deck saga continues! Slowly, but surely, it is starting to take shape. I am beginning to understand why it took Noah so long to build the ark. Scripture doesn't tell us what Noah's occupation was, but I am sure it was something other than building large boats, which means that Noah probably had limited daylight hours and days off from farming, shepherding, etc. with which to work on it. This same dilemma is proving to be true in my house, as well.

Not only is time a big contributor to the length of this project, but manpower is a factor, as well. I mean, seriously. We are trying to build a deck in the middle of July and August, and mostly on weekends. People are vacationing, spending time with family, or working on their own "arks" at their houses (Not that we haven't had help--some very good friends helped get supports dug and placed, and the majority of it framed up--and we are SO thankful). I'm betting Noah didn't get a lot of help from his friends, either--but mostly because they probably thought he was insane.

So, what does one do when one has a project, and there is a race against time? I mean, summer is about over, and we want to have this thing done before Thanksgiving. For Noah, I am sure the storm clouds on the horizon were getting rather ominous. One does the only thing one can do at this point. I can see Noah sighing deeply; asking God one last time if He couldn't please give this vision to at least one other person, and then resignedly walking into his tent and saying, "Honey? Do you think you could come help me for just a second?"

I wonder if Noah was as smart as my husband. I wonder if he handed his wife the antediluvian equivalent of a cordless drill and a tape measure, and actually let her put some pieces of the ark together--you know--the parts that wouldn't show after the entire thing was covered with pitch. And I wonder if Mrs. Noah then felt a grudging connection and sense of ownership to the monstrosity in her backyard. She probably never walked past certain parts of the ark again without remembering that she helped put a specific board in place. I'll bet she understood in that moment why God would pick Noah to do the job--because he did it with patience and accuracy and diligence. I wonder if she found an entirely new reason to admire her husband and to be amazed at how talented he was. And I am convinced that she was very thankful that she and Noah had the kind of marriage where working on home improvement projects together actually brought them closer as a couple.

Because if the opposite were true, I am sure that the story would read:

On that same day, Noah entered the ark with Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the three wives of his sons accompanying them. Noah's wife, however, was in her attorney's office.

(two boards that I actually got to put on the deck--using power tools!!)