2.9.17

Our Big Kentucky Road Trip Part 4: The Ark

I really had no intention of taking this long to post our road trip.  I mean, it's kind of like Noah waiting for the flood!  (Oh, I make myself laugh.)

But, here we are.  The whole reason we headed to Kentucky to begin with was to visit The Ark, a full-sized Noak's Ark that is built according to the dimensions in the Bible.  It is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet tall.  Honestly, these numbers really meant nothing to me at first except that it's just really, really, really big.  So when we turned the corner, and the Ark came into view for the first time, I was speechless.

I am, for the most part, a visual learner.  So when I finally got to see that life-sized structure of the Ark, I really can't describe in words what I felt or even what I was thinking.  I've known the Bible story my whole life.  

Noah's Ark is probably one of the most well-known "kids' stories" in the Bible, right along with David and Goliath, Daniel in the lion's den and Jesus walking on the water . . . you know, all those great Bible stories that are told over and over and over in kids' Sunday School classes.  And I've seen lots of pictures depicting the ark.  As a matter of fact, Mama has one hanging in my brother's old room at home.  It's so cute and bright and colorful.  All the animals are squished up together looking at the window of the ark.  I'm sure you've seen them, too.

I still remember nearly 15 years or so ago a sermon my pastor (at my parents' church) preached about Noah and the ark.  He focused on Noah's obedience.  I can right now remember, in particular, an exact statement from that sermon that has stuck with me all these years.  It was then that I began looking beyond the "kids' version" of the ark and really considered it as an "adult story" too.  And then five years ago I studied the book of Genesis at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship).  Yeah, let's just say that study radically changed my perspective of the Biblical account of Noah and the ark, and there were things I studied and thought about and learned that I never saw or understood before.  I can definitely say my visit to The Ark was shaped by what I learned during that study, and it made it that much more exciting to me.

The morning we arrived, it was pouring down rain.  And, I mean, POURING.  I didn't think about it at first, but once it hit me, it seemed kind of appropriate that it would be pouring down rain on the day we visited The Ark.  But I wasn't prepared for that.  I had only a small umbrella in my truck that's not big enough for two people, much less five people.  And there was a lot of outside walking to do before we actually entered The Ark.  Seth just took off and ran.  I held Ellie and squished Mason and Hannah Kate together with us as best I could under that umbrella.  When we arrived and parked, we had to walk to a covered area to hop on a bus that took us the rest of the way to the structure.  And once we arrived there and got off the bus, we still had a pretty good walk to The Ark.  I thought we did pretty good considering, but I didn't realize that Hannah Kate wasn't really under the umbrella and that all the rain that was dripping off the umbrella was falling right on top of her.  Poor thing was soaked by the time we got there.  She was a trooper though.

So here they are once we finally got under cover of The Ark.  

We spent just over three hours inside The Ark.  And we could've spent longer!  We took our time, and we did pretty much everything you can do.  We read everything, watched all the videos, participated in some of the interactive displays.  But there were still some things that we either went very quickly through or skipped, especially towards the end.  By the time we were finished, the rain was gone and the sun was out.  So we then spent about an hour outside The Ark at the petting zoo and just walking around.  I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because I was too busy just enjoying it and taking it all in.  Most of the inside pictures aren't great because of the dim lighting.

This carving caught my eye and it really beautiful, but you can't really tell that here.

This gives you an idea of how massive the structure is and how it was constructed on the inside.  My arms would not wrap all the way around those timbers.  They were HUGE.  (You can kind of tell here just how wet Hannah Kate was.)

Again, if you can, go!  Visit The Ark.  I'm telling you, it will radically change your perspective on a lot of things!

So that picture I mentioned earlier of the ark and all the animals squished in there?  That seems to be the most common visual of the Biblical account of Noah and the ark.  And that's one of the things I've always thought . . . I've just always thought it was probably super crowded in that boat with little room to move around . . . and how miserable it must've been to be cooped up in there with all those stinky, noisy animals for a whole year!  But now I realize that probably wasn't the case at all.  Once I actually saw the reality of how big those measurements are and then walked through all three levels of the structure, I realized that it probably wasn't as crowded in there as I thought.  I mean, it's just MASSIVE in size.  MASSIVE.  And there was plenty of room - even extra room! - for everybody, both men and animals!

Y'all already know how much I love color-coded, organized folders and how I pack my family for vacation and camp (with clearly labeled ziplocks for each day).  So I LOVED how organized everything was on The Ark!  There was a place for everyone and everything.  There was a specific plan and system for storing food and water (remember, they were in the thing for a year).  There was even a system for the removal of human and animal waste (you know, tee-tee and poop)!  So perhaps it wasn't as smelly in there after all!  You know, just because there was a lack of technology and invention in Bible times doesn't mean they weren't smart or sophisticated or learned.

This was one of my favorite visuals in The Ark.

And here are a couple of examples of "storage."  Again, it was just HUGE in there!

So how in the world did all the animals fit in there?  How in the world was a boat even big enough for all the animals?  And just HOW MANY animals were in there?  All of these questions and more are answered as you move through the different exhibits inside The Ark.  I was in awe of the amount of research and study that has gone into getting this right as much as possible and aligned with God's Word.  Again, I learned even MORE about God's instructions to Noah and the state of creation in Noah's day and time.  

During my BSF study of the account of the ark in the book of Genesis, there was a huge emphasis on the door of the ark.  The door.  There was only one door into the ark, and the only people who escaped and survived the devastating flood waters were those who walked through that door and into the ark.  So when we walked around the corner and saw this rendering of THE DOOR, I was speechless.  Again.

The door is a picture of Jesus.  Even way back in those early chapters in Genesis, we see Jesus.

I am still absolutely fascinated by the Biblical account of creation and our Creator God.  I absolutely loved this visual.

I don't know.  When we were there, this vantage spot really showed the magnitude of the structure.  But I don't think this picture captures that at all.

Like I said earlier, it was a perfectly gorgeous day when we stepped off the ark.  I can't even begin to imagine how Noah must've felt the day he finally left the ark!

I had tremendous expectations for this visit.  And, can I just tell you, The Ark EXCEEDED all of my expectations!  I truly believe I could go back and spent another four hours there, and I would still feel the same way, I'd still learn something new that I never knew before.

Again, it's been difficult to really articulate this part of our trip and our visit here.  You just have to go and experience it for yourself!  But there is one thing that has really stuck with me, that's really been impressed upon my heart after seeing The Ark.

One man, y'all.  One man.  God used ONE MAN to build this massive, bigger-than-life boat that saved his family and the future of all humanity.  You can watch a time-lapse video of the construction of the structure in Kentucky.  It's the largest timber-framed structure in the world.  It's, no doubt, an architectural and engineering wonder.  And, yet, all those years ago without the aid of fancy computer programs and cranes and engineering and modern technology, a man named Noah simply OBEYED GOD and built, according to God's perfect instruction and plan, a big ole boat.  Oh, how tired he must've gotten.  And, I mean, what he was doing wasn't exactly popular.  Everyone else thought he was nuts.  I'll bet he didn't have a whole lot of friends.  And, not only that, but Noah probably didn't even have a concept of rain or understand what rain even was because the Bible tells us that, prior to that time, the earth was watered by a mist that came up from the ground (Genesis 2:6).  So, rain?  Water falling from the sky?

And, yet, Noah built an ark.  Just like God told him to.

Noah obeyed God.  And, as a result of his obedience, God gave him exactly what he needed in order to do what God had called him to do, something that must've seemed to Noah seemingly impossible.  God not only provided Noah with everything he needed to complete the task of building the ark, but God also equipped Noah to do the work.

There is NOTHING too big for my God.  Nothing.

That situation that I'm facing right now, the one that just feels like it's going to drown me . . . it's not impossible for God.  It's not too big for Him.  And I don't have to figure it out. I don't have to plan it out.  God has already done that.  He has a plan.  All He asks is that I obey.  He's got this.

"I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple,
and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
and made me bold with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD,
when they hear the words of Your mouth.
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand will save me.

***The LORD will perfect that which concerns me;***

Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands."
~Psalm 138