Best Known Bedtime Story: Noah and the Flood was probably based on a true story about a tsunami that devastated the Mediterranean around 8,000 years ago (see story), but got better after each telling.  It probably went something like this:

DAD: So, that’s how the great flood covered the earth.
KIDS: Wow!  That was a lot of water.  How did the people survive?
DAD: Uh, this man named Noah was saved with his wife, sons, and their wives.
KIDS: How about all the animals?  Wouldn’t they have all died in the flood?
DAD: Uh, Noah saved them too.
KIDS: How did he do that?
DAD: Let see, he put them on a boat.
KIDS: That boat must have been huge to fit all the animals.
DAD: Yes, it was very large, but it didn’t fit ALL the animals just two of each kind.
KIDS: It must have taken a long time to build.  How did Noah know the flood was coming?
DAD: Well, God told him of course.
KIDS: Why did God do such a bad thing and send the flood?
DAD: He was very angry at the bad people.
KIDS: I’m afraid.  Will God wipe out the world again?
DAD: Don’t be afraid. God said He’d never wipe out the earth again. Okay, it’s time for bed.

Additional:

End Days?: Noah and the Flood brings to mind the two tsunamis in Indonesia (2004) and Japan (2011), hurricanes like Katrina (2005) and Ike (2008), Tornadoes like the ones in Alabama and Joplin, Missouri (2011) and earthquakes like in Haiti (2010).

These events make us wonder if these are the end days?  The answer is “NO”. Earthquakes happen somewhere on the planet every day, hurricanes and tornadoes follow regular season patterns, and tsunamis happen periodically as well (see List of Tsunamis).

The earth has not changed, but we have:

• Over-population makes all these disasters worse.  With larger population centers in harms way of natural disasters, we will continue to see more damage and loss of lives in the near future, but that does not mean the earth is coming to an end.
• Sensationalized media coverage is probably the biggest reason we feel like these are the end times.  Fifty years ago, most people never knew when a disaster struck Southeast Asia.  Now it feels like it is happening right next door.  Movies like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 flash the end of the world right before our eyes.

• Mayan Calendar 2012: The media’s latest fear device is the Mayan calendar that ends in December 2012.  Now many people believe the end of the world will happen on 12/21/12.  My calendar ends December 31st every year and we’re still around each New Year’s Day.  Of course, I’m not as all-knowing as the Mayans who practiced human sacrifices as offerings to their gods thousands of years ago.

Personally, I think this is irresponsible journalism that is bound to get many people killed. Watch, I am sure the number of suicides will increase as we approach December next year.  I just hope nothing worse … manmade … happens.

There is Always Hope: the best message from Noah and the Flood is that there is always hope.  The story tells us not to give up.  Noah, his family, and the animals were stuck on the ark for 150 days.  I can only imagine how they felt when the first dove returned empty-handed (or beaked) as they looked at their dwindling food.  But, with hope they sent out the second dove that returned with the olive branch.  We must always have hope and continue to try in our daily endeavors.