Water and the Word: Rising

And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. (Genesis 7:7)

A neighbor called to ask for help.

The creek beside their house

was flooding.

By the time I ran down the hill,

water was six inches deep

in their carport, and creeping

toward the house.

We dragged everything we could move

up the steep driveway

and into the front yard.

Then we sat and watched the brown liquid

creep toward their living space,

as the rain continued to fall.

Fortunately, the liquid intruder stopped

well before it reached their door,

easing back down the incline.

The water was brown and turbid,

whisking all sorts of things

down its conduit:

large round hay bales,

a pump house,

and pretty much anything else

that wasn’t securely anchored.

I bet you, like I, know someone

whose life is flooding now;

someone whose moorings

have become untethered;

someone who may be

struggling to stay afloat.

Whatever ark we find

at our disposal —

listening ears, warm dry space,

a cup of cool clean water —

I pray we’ll let down the plank

and welcome them

into the safest space we have.

© 2020 Todd Jenkins

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