We’re weeks into a summer youth group series about waiting. We’ve explored Abraham and Sarah, Mary, Noah, Jonah, Ruth and Naomi–and that last pair has grabbed students’ imagination in a way the others haven’t.
How do I know? Every week I begin by asking students to recall the stories we’ve already covered, and they always remember Naomi (nobody ever names Ruth–it’s always Naomi). Sometimes a student recalls Abraham and Sarah, though rarely by name (“that old couple”). Noah gets invoked frequently enough. But no story has achieved the kind of recall as Ruth and Naomi, and we only read the first chapter.
I’m not sure what to make of this. I’m just taking notes.
YoRocko! 
Hmm, it looks like you (and we) get to wait, too. My fiction-writing books often mention making a character easy for a reader to identify with. Maybe having a mother-in-law is easier to imagine than being “really old.” I will wait for new developments, too. Thanks.
I would think Noah would be the one that resonates the most since it was a long time to be in that ark. Not just the 40 days, but the years beyond, waiting for the water to recede. Makes our shelter-at-home look pretty tame.