I Want to be a Noah

     The other day we were invited to meet some of the children's friends from Heritage for a field trip to the small dinosaur park in Middlefield. We had visited this tiny park a few times before, and even though we had seen the footprints from the dinosaurs, I figured it would be good for the children to see it again, as well as hear about the park's history from a very knowledgeable teacher. To be honest, I wanted to hear about it myself.
     We could not have picked a nicer day to go. It was hard to believe December could see sixty degree weather, but with the sun shining, and birds chirping in the trees, you would have thought spring was in the air. When we arrived, we discovered someone had been to the park shortly before and had outlined, in chalk, many of the three-toed footprints that covered the small, rock-covered area. I had never noticed how many there were and was quite surprised. They were all different sizes, meaning young dinosaurs and their parents had stood in the very same spot we were standing. It was a very awesome thing to think about!
     When the other children arrived along with their teachers, the gentleman who taught fifth grade explained to everyone how the footprints had been formed, in the ground that once had been mud, but became rock hard as the other layers of rock were pushed over it when Noah's flood came. I was fascinated with the story, and it was so good to hear the story of creation explained and not have to hear about how it took millions and billions of year ago to make such a site. All I could picture were hundreds of dinosaurs running in every direction, confused and scared as the rains came down and the grounds became flooded with water. Higher and higher the waters rose, pushing the soil and mud into layer after layer, until the ground became a small mountain. The only reason they had discovered the footprints in the first place was because the town had needed the rock for a project down the road and had blasted the area. Upon removing the rock, the footprints were discovered in the layers.
    When I asked why there were no dinosaur skeletons, I was told that the sediment did not have the proper minerals for preserving bones. I guess there are no dinosaur fossils found in Connecticut, though there are plenty of footprints to prove they had once roamed the state. 
     As I got to thinking about Noah and the flood, I began to think about the idea that only Noah and seven others in his family made it through those scary days of the worldwide flood. I have been thinking and praying a lot about the future of this country, wondering just how long God is going to wait for the people of this land to realize He still rules the throne. It does not matter if people ignore Him, deny Him, or even say He is not real. God has given His creation as a witness to His very Being, and just as He was merciful to Israel and waited patiently for hundreds of years for them to come back to Him, there was always a time of taking His hand off them and letting the enemy come in and wreak havoc. Like I said before, how long will the Lord wait for us? As in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Eating, drinking, making merry (partying), and doing what was right in their own eyes. That was how it was when Noah was on the earth. Yet, Noah made an open choice to do what was right and live for God. It did not matter if people around him laughed and told him he was an oddball. It did not matter if people threw sticks at him, and mud at the ark that he built. Noah went ahead even with the persecution around him, knowing in his heart that what God said would surely come to pass on the earth. God could not lie. He still cannot lie. His Word is true. My question today is, will I be a Noah and be one of the ones who sails safely on the ark when the judgement falls on this land? I want to be a Noah. I want to do what is right now matter what it may mean for me and my family. May the Lord give me strength to continual walk in His ways, and may He continue to grant this country mercy for the sake of my children.  

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