Noah and the Ark

September 14, 2009 by Karen 

noahs_ark_rainbowA while back I was sharing the story of Noah’s Ark with Zaiden. Afterward, she said “If you don’t take care of the earth, God will take you away.” I didn’t know quite what to say!

I took it upon myself to do a bit of biblical research on the tale. I wanted a better way to explain it to her. So I searched in a concordance, a metaphysical dictionary and a couple of other reference tools and came up with a whole new understanding of Noah and the Ark.

It seems that an Ark represents the spiritual part of oneself. It is our own personal sanctuary, the “Christ within.” The more I dug, the more I learned. Noah himself represents tranquility and acceptance. Water, of course, cleanses. And the flood itself represents a destruction- which the dictionary defines as demolition, devastation. Can this demolition be simply an opportunity to rebuild? Isn’t this what God was supposedly doing? Wiping the slate clean- starting over- taking a DO-Over??

I was sharing all of this with a couple of like-minded friends and the more we discussed, the deeper it all became. Finally it occurred to me that the story is actually about accepting the challenges posed to us and seeking sanctuary within.

I thought of my own journey. Cancer certainly started out as a Flood for me. I was lost, overwhelmed, terrified, certainly not in control… If you look back over my journey, I decided long ago that this was my opportunity to take a Do-Over, to begin again. Over time, by going within, I built my own ark. My sanctuary. In a way, cancer itself became my ark, as I began to trust the lessons it taught me- teaches me- accept the gifts it granted me.

I returned to my daughter yesterday and shared my new interpretation for the story of the flood: Sometimes God gives us a flood to deal with- challenges, difficulties- and it is up to us to chose- do we let it overwhelm us- over take us? Or do we build an ark and let the waters lead us to the mountain top? It is ultimately our choice.

So, transform your floods into healing waters. Take trials as opportunities to start again. Look for the lessons, the gifts in the midst of adversity. Begin to build your ark one board, one nail at a time. And go within… All the answers lie within.

And never forget, at the end of every storm is a rainbow- a promise of better things. Hope, Faith, Love and Joy.

Never stop searching for that rainbow.

Karen

Filed under: Living Journal

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