Even if you don’t believe in God, everyone has heard the story of Noah’s Ark. Noah was six-hundred years old when he closed the doors to the ark. Historians believe that it took him 75 years to build it. Noah built this ark as instructed by God. According to Jewish tradition, lions, wolves, tigers and other ferocious animals surrounded the ark to protect Noah from the evil people who were assigned to disrupt the building of the ark. There were major obstacles to accomplish this great endeavor, but because Noah was righteous he received favor from God. This gave Noah the grace to build the ark. When you are righteous before the Lord, He gives you favor to complete any task.
The Ark
Deep within us we all have an ark we want to build. We long to accomplish something significant even though we never believed it could be done. In my lifetime my ark is this Blog. It has always been the desire of my heart to reach others and to lead them to the Lord. How did God use me, a mediocre student with dyslexia? My story is no different from the rest of you, I prayed and God gave me the desires of my heart. I have learned from this experience that everything is done in God’s timing, not mine. After praying for so many years I received a dream with the instructions for my ark. I was given the name for the Blog and the image of what the logo would look like. At first I did not receive this as instructions from God. I questioned Him about the name My Catholic Roots Are Showing as being too long and the fact that the word Catholic was included. My idea was to reach Protestants as well, so I felt that the mention of “Catholic” would not grab the attention of my Protestant friends. But God had other ideas. Slowly this Blog is reaching many, including people from around the world. Each week the Lord graciously gives me a story to share, to offer hope and to shed light in this time of darkness.
God Is Specific
When God gave Noah instructions on how to build the ark, He was very specific:
When you are called to do something for the Kingdom of God, it does not always come naturally. When you understand that it’s a gift from God, the Holy Spirit gives you revelation. God gives gifts to all of us. Even the ungodly are given gifts. Of course until they see the big picture, they believe His gifts are really their own creativity and talents. Your mind is a gift from God; how you use it will either draw you closer to God or not. If you do not believe in God, you might believe that your great success is based on how astute you are.
Gopherwood
Gopherwood is only mentioned in the Bible one time. The ark had to have strong hard wood to withstand not only 40 days of flooding but to remain in the water for another 150 days! My Blog had to have a name that stood out and was uniquely mine. I attribute the word “roots” in my Blog as being rooted in the Word of God. My Catholic faith is a deeply private matter in my relationship with our Lord. I could not be where I am today if it were not for my Catholic beliefs.
The Evil Around Us
Just as in the days of Noah, evil prevailed.