You Hear But Are You Listening?

So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.

~Genesis 7:5

Sherlock Holmes was famous for pointing out, "You see, but you do not observe!  I see AND observe and, thus, many crimes are solved."  What about us?  

These last several days have drenched in rain, which has resulted in flooding.  People have had to leave their homes and even evacuate completely to higher ground because of the flooding. People have joked about needing to build an ark just to get to work.  And, yes, I have made that same joke as well.

Sunday morning, however, we awoke to soaked rug and the sound of dripping water (which we heard in spite of the rain sounds from outside).  I walked into the den to find a large, wet, dripping section of sheet rock and off to the attic I climbed to attempt to discover the source of this leak.  Sure enough, the roof did have a spot where the water was seeping in. So, after putting down a large pot to catch the water, off to into the storms we went to Stuff-Mart to see if we could find something to stem the building flood. 

On the way home to tackle the issue with the hope that we had what we needed to at least patch the leaky roof, the thought occurred to me that Noah's neighbors must have thought him insane to build an enormous boat.  They probably laughed and joked.....until the rain began and didn't let up.  

Noah, on the other hand, was more focused on doing what God had told him to do rather than listen to his neighbors.  Has God ever nudged you to do something you KNEW was the right thing to do, but you chose not to do it because you felt you'd be laughed at?  Yeah me too.  Has God ever put on your heart to do something, and you did it with all your dedication...until people started making fun of you or told you that what you were doing would never make a difference?  Yeah, me too.

Yet Noah did EVERYTHING that God commanded him to do.  And in doing that, Noah and his family came out okay. 

Those who personally know me can tell you that I don't preach at people, rather I talk with people, I hand out Tootsie Rolls, I listen to them, I make Butt Ugly But Big Afghans (BUBBAs) to give away....but I don't preach.  God laid on my heart, many years ago, to listen to people and share whatever He put on my mind to share with them.  But Noah is a great example of just that, do what God has put on your heart no matter what other people might say.

To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, "You Hear, But Are You Listening?"