The Story of Noah Continues

It has been four weeks since the ‘Great Flood’ in our home. In the beginning, I was calm and responded with love, kindness and dignity knowing that God has a plan and the plan is Good. I had an attitude of gratitude and excitement about the cleaning out and redoing our home. The chaos and the mess were tolerable knowing that in the end all would be better.
However, I forgot one important thing, in times of trouble it is imperative to take care of oneself first.
Even though there was a flood, life continues. Just as with any tragedy or unexpected change we face, life goes on. To add to our mess, we still had a house full of company, extra dogs, family commitments and appointments, all of which took time and energy away from dealing with the mess at hand. I’m sure this was the case with Noah.
Not only did he have to deal with the rain, he had to take care of his family and the hundreds of animals and all of their needs as well. He had to clean out stalls, feed animals, keep watch on the weather, all the while concerning himself with the needs of his family. There was no escape, nowhere to go where there wasn’t a reminder of his and his family’s predicament.
As the days go by and my house is in utter chaos, my spirits have waned. Tripping over boxes, stepping on bare carpet strips, getting dressed from the garage, and awaiting news from my insurance company, I have become irritable, frustrated and discontent. I began to relate to Bill Cosby’s rendition of Noah’s story and wondering where God went. I am doing work which I have no expertise: painting, scrapping ceilings, and laying tile; similar to Noah dealing with a pregnant elephant, according to Bill Cosby.
And where is God in all of this? That is the big question, I’m sure the one Noah was asking when he sent out the raven and the dove for a sign of dry ground or really a sign of hope that he and his family had not been forgotten.
In Genesis 8:24, it reads, “The waters maintained their crest over the earth for one hundred and fifty days, and then God remembered Noah and all the animals. . .”
God remembered Noah!
Does this mean that Noah slipped God’s mind, like an appointment slips my mind. Could it be that God might have other things going on, even when my and Noah’s world is crumbling? Or is it that my time schedule is not God’s time schedule? Could it be that one hundred and fifty days or four weeks, in my case, is an eternity for me and only a split second to God? Who really knows? Maybe what author Anne Lamott says is true, “Perhaps when a lot of seemingly meaningless things start to go wrong all at once, it is to protect something big and lovely that is trying to get itself born and that we need to get distracted so it can be born perfect.”
My family and I have been definitely distracted, just as Noah and his family was distracted. We are doing seemingly mindless activity awaiting the next indicated step. The question for me is how do I maintain spiritual connectedness and inner peace in the midst of added chaos in my life.
Upon reflection of the past month, I noticed that I stopped caring for myself physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. I forwent my daily walks, meditations, and proper eating. I did not want to waste my time; I had so much other work to do. I also added more stress by not setting boundaries with friends and family. As a result, I allowed myself to pull out my pity pot. I began focusing on the negative aspects of my life instead of the many blessings. I began envying my friends and family who were having summer fun. I was resentful at my self-imposed monotony of everyday life. My mind was spiraling down creating a miserable reality.
Thank God, I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I looked at what I was not doing that kept me centered and connected with God. I realized, I had quit maintaining my spiritual practices of prayer and meditation, my physical well-being of eating well and exercise, and my daily reading of positive and inspiring words. I forgot to be grateful for the small blessings in life (I could have a pregnant elephant in my living room). I quit taking care of myself and we all suffered.
Upon this realization, I began anew, my pity pot is back up in the attic and life is good.
Maintaining a healthy and balanced life requires caring for yourself first. Maybe if we all did this, we would live in a more peaceful world.

The Great Flood

My family prays with the expectation and anticipation to receive, and our prayers are usually answered quickly and in dramatic ways. However, over the past year, our prayers have been seemingly lost in the ethers. When this happens with my spiritual direction clients, I recommend they clean house. Clean out their emotional, spiritual and physical baggage.
The first step is usually to clean out your physical home, your car, your closets, your garage, and your work space. Look around and ask yourself, “Are these areas clean and uncluttered? Are they filled with things that I use, that I absolutely love and bring me much joy? Or are they filled with things I never use, that zap my energy every time I dust or move them? Are my spaces cluttered and disorganized, robbing me of precious time and money every time I need to find something? Is my clutter keeping me from relationships with my children, family and friends, out of shame, guilt and feelings of overwhelm? Am I overly attached to my stuff? Is my lifestyle ridged and inflexible? Is my stuff blocking me from the blessings God has in store for me?
In most cases, our physical surroundings reflect our inner spiritual life.
When I asked myself these questions, the answer was a big fat “YES!” So practicing what I teach, our family planned to clean out every room. We began this venture on Saturday. My plan was to finish by the following Friday. I was in a hurry and on a mission when I was moving one closet into the other, without thoroughly releasing things. My wise daughter caught me in the act, called me on this behavior and said, “Mom, if we are going to do this, we need to do it right and get rid of stuff!” She was correct; yet, I was resistant and not wanting to do all that was required.
It was clear that our house needed a thorough cleaning out and I needed to release a lot more than I was willing. Monday morning as our family went about our day away from home; God had other plans and sent the great flood. We arrived home to find water running out of our house into our yard.
Tuesday morning during meditation I asked, “O.K. God, what is this about?” I received; it is the story of Noah and the ark, of course! “Really,” I said, “What does that mean?”
I knew the story of Noah’s Ark, it is a favorite children’s bible story among Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith traditions. The question is what does his story have to do with my house flooding?
Noah, an inspired man, routinely communed with God through prayer and meditation. He followed instructions and did whatever was required for God to use him in a great way. Noah had to be willing to release all of his belongings, keeping only what was essential to move forward and to begin anew. He had to trust that God would provide all he required to begin his new life and that God would give him signs of hope along the way.
Of course, the flood began in my bathroom creating the most damage in my closet, room, office and kitchen: my areas of the house. Who was the one in resistance? Who was the one being forced to release more stuff? Who is praying the prayer of Jabez; praying for God to expand my territory for the common good of all? ME!
So the questions are Becky, “Are you willing to release all that is necessary to keep moving forward as Noah did. Are you willing to listen to the call of God? Are you willing to give up all of the non-necessities in your life, things that you do not use or need now or in the future; things that take your time away from living a full and happy life; things that bind you to the status quo? Are you willing to trust that God will provide all that is required to do what you are called here to do?”
These are tough questions.
Well, the flood carried away several things which I was unsure, now the rest is up to me and my family to finish cleaning out and releasing blocks to our spiritual future. How committed are we to do the will of God? I guess we will see, as our garbage cans begin to fill up.
The story of Noah teaches us to purge those things that block us from God and keep those things that connect us. We are created as conduits for God to work in and through us. By cleaning out and releasing our clutter, we form a vacuum which opens the passages for us to receive and to keep the flow of God energy moving in and through us. When we horde things and keep things thinking “I’ll need it someday,” we are living in a mind set of fear and of lack. We are not living in line with spiritual teachings. All through scripture, we are called to trust God for all of our needs. We are told of an abundant universe, and that God is our great provider.
Don’t wait for a flood, go ahead, clean house.