Noah Was How Old?

Genesis 7:11

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

During the past several months I have often wondered, What in the world am I doing? Starting a new/small business (that is costing a fortune) on the backside of fifty must mean I am insane, dementia is setting in, or, I am just a glutton for punishment and hard work. When I’m feeling that overwhelming tightness in my chest a soft gentle whisper in my head speaks to me and says, Be still my child and know that I am God.

I sincerely believe that the Lord talks to me in so many different ways, a cool breeze, the chirping of a bird, the rush of the river, a tiny frog as it hops along it’s path to who knows where. One of the ways God reveals Himself to me is through my Guidepost daily devotional. Many a morning I pick it up only to think to myself, I don’t have time to read, then the Holy Spirit takes over and reminds me that if I don’t have time for a few minutes with the Savior then I cannot expect Him to give me much of His day.

So many mornings God sends messages to me through the writers of Guidepost. God knew long before the words were ever written what I would need to hear on that exact morning. On April 25^th after a long week of writing contractors checks and watching the dollars just fly out the window God told me this from Proverbs 21:5, The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Okay Lord, you can rest assured I am diligent, too deep now to turn back.

Then on May 17^th God spoke from Jeremiah 29:11, For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, to give you a future with hope. Then the next day on May 18^th He reassured me from Psalm 9:10 saying, Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

One thing I can say for certain is that I do trust God, even when being mocked by friends and family. In many ways I feel a bit like Noah, why in the world would he take on such an undertaking as building an Ark in an area where it never rains? Why? Because Noah trusted in the Lord and sought His will. I cannot even imagine how Noah was laughed and scorned at. Building a boat where there is no water? How stupid is that? Sort of like the comments I hear like: Who would want to camp in Pleasant Ridge?

I don?t know a whole lot about many things, but I do know when the Holy Spirit is nudging me, not to do something, or, to do something. Almost a year ago when the campground project began my husband and I planned everything out. Where the store would be, how many campsites, what the roof color would be on the bathhouse, you know important stuff. Then obstacles were thrown in the way, like land not perking for a septic system. We would look at each other and say, Oh well, it just wasn’t meant to be. Then by the next day another plan had been revealed to us, one that would turn out to be just as good, or even better than the first one.

A lot about what we may be doing might not make sense to some folks, but there’s a lot that does make sense to us. The good Lord knows we’re not trying to start this business to get rich, we’d just like to have a nice place for people to come and rest for a day or two from driving the interstate. We welcome families who’d like to have a camping spot a bit lower key for the family to sit around the campfire at night and tell a tale or two, or catch a spring lizard in the branch. You know some kids don’t have a clue what a crawdad is?

Of course it would be great to make a little money for retirement days. Hopefully you’ll stop by Byrd’s Branch Campground and Country Store at 225 Martin Byrd Road, Elkin NC 28621 and sit a spell with us on the front porch, have a nice cone of hand-dipped ice cream, drink a bottle of pop, and enjoy some good visiting and story telling.

I have come to welcome the peace I have been blessed with concerning this project, and when I read Psalm 129:12, I know all will be well, shucks Noah was way past his fifties when he took on one of the hugest leaps of faith in history.

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Tagged as: Byrd's Branch Campground and Country Store, Campground 225 Martin Byrd Road Elkin NC 28621, campgrounds in Elkin NC, Guidepost, Noah