Genesis 7:13
“On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth,
together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.”
Mrs. Ham’s Lessons
Imagine what life was like for Mrs. Ham. She was in a boat with pigs, sheep, elephants, giraffes, and every other kind of animal. Thirty days after she entered the boat it was still raining. The sea is tossing, the smell is terrible, and the only light came from an oil lantern. She had neither sun nor moon nor fresh air. On top of this she did not know when or how this is all going to end.
This is not what she signed up for when she became Mrs. Ham. Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens. If we could talk with Mrs. Ham today, there are many things she would tell us. Here are four life-lessons from Mrs. Ham.
1. Your seemingly crazy in-law might not be crazy after all.
100 years into the boat building, the neighbors surely thought that Noah was crazy. He was gathering animals and building a giant boat in the middle of dry land. No doubt that Mrs. Ham’s friends thought she had a crazy father-in-law. He was not crazy.
2. You do too marry his family.
Many folks marry into a family and say, “I am marrying him, not his family.” At the end of life, everyone understands that you marry not only him, but his family. The wise woman will get to know the family she is marrying.
3. If you marry the right person, it may save your life.
When Mrs. Ham was safe and dry while the whole world was drowning, she had to realize that she was safe because she married into a family of faith.
4. You are going to wind up in the same boat.
You need to learn to love your family because you are going to wind up in the same boat with them. You can say it is not so, but it is!
Do not live your life like you are the first person to walk the earth. Learn from those who have walked your path before. You will learn the lessons of Mrs. Ham. The only question is are you willing to learn from her experience or do you have to learn the hard way – by experiencing it yourself.
Lonnie Davis