It’s been one of those weeks in Lake Wobegon.   Those happen from time to time.   When there is not enough hours in the day, not enough days in the week to get done or see to all you have in front of you. 

When that happens, I catch myself repeating an old phrase I guess I picked up in childhood.   “When it rains…it _____?”  That’s right.    When it rains it pours.   Means that when one trouble comes, we discover than along with it, a whole host of problems start popping up.  When it rains, it pours.

The Flood in the Bible is a difficult story.  It’s interesting to me that one of the first Bible stories we often each our children, one of the first ones that was taught to us, is Noah and the flood.  I suppose it’s because of the animals.  But the flood.  The flood is an horrible thing.

When Noah was 600 years old, he had gathered his family and all of the animals, the food animals and the other animals, pairs of every living thing into the ark.  And the Lord shut them in. 

And the rain began to fall.  Forty days and nights.  Rain fell.   And covered the face of the earth.  The water lifted the ark, the Bible says.   It floated on the face of the waters, that swelled so mightily the earth and the high mountains were covered, the peaks, under 15 cubits, some 23 feet of water.

And then these words: “And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human beings; ²²everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. ²³He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth.”

God, so disgusted with humanity and its evil nature, that God decides to destroy the whole thing.   Flood the earth.  Deep enough—long enough—to kill every living thing on the earth.   The birds, the animals and the creeping things.

This is the part of the story that I lack the ability to comprehend.    I am not alone.  Biblical scholars of every persuasion have wrestled with the Flood story.   Trying to determine if it were possible.  Trying to find evidence.   Since the 1960’s a mountaintop site in Eastern Turkey has been thought by some to be the final resting place of the ark.   For decades, the resulting argument has been whether or not the boat-shaped soil and the small piece of wood are indeed the ark or not.   I don’t know.

So I am left with the story.  And left with the story…I get rather afraid, and sad when I dwell on the flood.   

I remember once teaching about Noah and the flood to a group of Vacation Bible School children.  I was the story teller, and had them imagine the great flood that took place.   As I look back at it now, what I did seems very cruel, and mostly illustrates why I should never be the story teller for a Bible School, but I had the children huddle in the rain, trying not to get wet, and then the rain forming little streams of water that we didn’t want to get into, and then the streams growing until the water was everywhere.   “Everywhere, the floods are rising.   Everywhere the water is coming.”  I shouted.   “Are you afraid?”  I asked?   Most of the children immediately responded.  “Yes!   Help us!   Help us!”  

But one little girl, unlike all the others was calm in the midst of the commotion.   “The flood is coming!” I said in my most anxious voice.   “Aren’t you afraid?”

“No.” she said matter-of-factly.

“Your not?” I asked.

“No” she said again.

“Why not?” I asked, not able to understand why she wouldn’t be afraid.

“Because I’m in the boat.” She said.

Ah---

I have trouble with the flood story, because I tend to focus on the destruction of the flood.   Of course, wise children, even the smallest children know better.   The story isn’t about the flood, it’s about the boat.   God’s boat.   And those on God’s boat, are safe, no matter how terrible the flood gets.

When it rains, it pours.   And when it pours it floods.   And when it floods, you better get in God’s boat.   A lesson that is simple enough for a child to grasp.   When it rains, it pours.   When it pours, it floods.  And when it floods, get yourself into God’s boat!

The rain that sprinkles us with burden and trouble comes gently at first.   May be it’s just a shower.  That pain in the chest…but then it goes away as mysteriously as it came.  Just a sprinkle.  A teacher mentions to a parent that there are some issues with their child.     Some gray clouds and a few drops.  A person hates his or her job, and can’t hardly get the energy to go to work in the morning, but then the weekend comes.

Sometimes, though, the rain settles in.   There’s no break in the clouds, and the skies seem forever gray and dark.  The showers turn into pouring, drenching rains.  The pain returns, this time it takes your breath away.  Why can’t you get your breath?  The rain pounds down.    The police phone to tell the worried parents that they have their son or daughter detained in jail.  It’s not a rain, it’s a storm.  The thunder rolls over and the water gushes from the sky.  The weekend no longer provides the necessary break from the job.  Burnout finally keeps a person deep in their bed when the alarm clock sounds.

And when it pours like that long enough, the ground becomes the saturated.   The grounding of our soul becomes saturated.    And the flood waters start to rise.  Flashing lights and siren dispatch the ambulance and the situation is life and death.  Rushing torrents of water.    The couple are afraid of their child.   The behavior has grown so disturbing.  Drugs, alcohol, something has robbed the child away from its parents, and left only a broken, angry shell behind.

 When it rains, it pours. 

Many of us, to a degree or two, have experienced the driving, pouring rain that comes sometimes.  

When it rains it pours, and when it pours, it floods.  Some of us, have been in the rain when it began to gather and pool around us.  Fearing for our safety, afraid to be washed away. 

But as the little girl knew so well, and taught me, when it floods, the best place to be is in God’s boat.

When it rains it pours, and when it pours it floods, and when it floods, you better get yourself into God’s boat.

That’s why this is a marvelous story of faith for children.   The pictures to color and the toys with which to play, it’s always the boat.   The giraffes with their necks sticking out.   Two Elephant heads in the bow.  Two hippo heads in the stern.   Some monkeys and other animals sprinkled in each window.   And of course, Noah.   All safe and sound.   Let ‘er rain.  They are in God’s boat.   Of course!   The safe place is with God.  

What else is there to do when it floods?   Where else to turn? 

 Take your hands and cup them for a moment.   Like this.   Imagine your hands for a moment as God’s hands.   Holding all safe who enter in.   God’s hands.   God’s boat.   Above the flood.   Out of the rain.   Safe.   Secure.   From all alarms.   When it rains it pours.   When it pours it floods.   When it floods….where do you want to be?