There are a lot of people I want to see when I get to heaven. First, of course, is Jesus. I think we’ll just hang out together for the first several thousand years. Then there are people I’ve known and loved here on earth. Of course I want to see them again. But what about all the new people who will be hanging out with God, people I’ve heard of but never met on earth? Which one do I want to meet the most?

I want to finally meet Noah’s wife. I want to get to know her. How did she cope with having a visionary for a husband?

See, when God told Noah to build the ark, He also explained why: “So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth” (Genesis 6:13).

Note here that God told Noah. Nowhere is there any mention of God telling Mrs. Noah about much of anything. Did God just leave her in the dark? Did she have to take her husband’s word for it all? It’s easy to imagine Noah going home and having a little conversation with his wife…

“Hello dear. Had a nice talk with God today. He told me that He’s going to destroy the world, and He wants me to build a big boat.”

“That’s nice honey. What’s a boat?”

“Well, it’s like a house only bigger. Three stories tall—uh, that’s about thirty cubits—and three hundred cubits long by fifty cubits wide.”

“That’s huge! If you think you’re building that in our backyard, you have another think coming! Whatever will the neighbors think?”

“It’s supposed to be made out of cypress wood.”

“And where are you going to get enough wood to build something that big? Don’t tell me. You want to take this out of my remodeling budget!”

“I have to cover the whole thing with pitch. I think that’s supposed to make it waterproof.”

“Why do we need it to be waterproof? Look around! We live in a desert, husband! Besides, the pitch will get all over your clothes and I’ll have a horrible time getting them clean again.

Don’t you see what you’re doing? Everyone already thinks you’re crazy, talking to God all the time. And now you want to squander our hard-earned money on some delusional building project! Are you crazy? Why can’t we just be normal—like everyone else around here?”

My guess is Noah decided to save the part about all the animals for later.

It’s hard to live with a person who is single-mindedly focused on some project, even if the project was God’s idea. Sure, Noah said it was to save them from God’s wrath, but that wrath was still in the future. Theoretical. Did she believe him? Was she afraid?

In the meantime, it couldn’t have been easy for Noah’s wife to put up with the ridicule of the people around them. Here Noah is, building a boat, and according to scripture it had never yet rained. It was hard enough for her to grasp; how could anyone else possibly understand?

I really want to meet this woman who moved into an ark with hundreds of animals, watched the destruction of all she knew, endured endless days afloat, and then had to start completely over once the waters receded. She had lost everything she’d had before… friends (if she still had any with that boat going up in the yard), other family members (only their immediate family was saved), her house, her entire way of life. I have a million questions. How did she manage? I hope we can be friends.

Besides Jesus, who do you want to finally meet in Heaven? Why?