The Seven Day Itch

I recently reread an old Bible story about Noah the other day after being reminded of something I'd heard years ago that coincided with that old tale. I absolutely adore reading stories that were read to me as a child or stories that I once discovered on my own that changed my life. And this is one of those stories.

When I was first read the story of Noah and his oversized boat I remember thinking as a kid that he was a complete loon and likened him to an old biddy that had a weak spot for all things feline influenced. Hence, the ship full of animals. As an adult, however, the story began to resonate with me about how difficult it can be to go against the grain when all you want to do is go with the flow and become a wallflower in your own life. Or how choosing to be a part of all things good and right can sometimes require every last bit of our strength and patience.

But now...well, now a different part of that story resonates so deeply I can feel it in my toes.

While Noah's biography is fairly well-known there's a small little fact that often gets overlooked, but may be the most important part of the whole thing. After he built the ark and loaded all the animals and his family onto it, he had to sit there for a week before the rain started. That's right! For seven days he lived his life inside that ark with the sun shining outside and not a cloud in the sky. And there's a good chance that he felt his labor was in vain. There's a good chance that Noah started to doubt himself, God and everything he knew to be right and true.

There's a good chance he got the 7 day itch.

There are times in this City Girl's life where waiting isn't just a thing that happens in long Disneyland lines or behind the old, slow lady at the grocery store, but seems to have become a way of life. And let me just preface my next few sentences by saying that this Girl's life is good. Really good, in fact! But there are days when I can't help but look around, notice that the boat has been built, or at least as far as I can tell, and now I'm just sitting inside it waiting for the sound of water droplets landing on the deck.

There's a time to work and build. There's a time to set sail. And then there are times when waiting is the right thing to do. This isn't the first time I've had to wait for something and I'm absolutely sure it won't be the last, but I look forward to the day when that itch will finally be scratched.