1) Let’s dive back into the story at Genesis chapter 8, verse 1. Here, we’re told that God remembered Noah. Now, this isn’t about God having a memory lapse about who Noah was. It’s more about God putting His promise to Noah at the forefront of His divine agenda, ready to take action and help out. And how did He do that? By sending a wind to sweep over the waters. Just imagine that—God commanding the winds to come to our rescue!

2) The underground waters stopped their relentless flow, and the flood began to slowly but surely go down. It took about 150 days for this turnaround to kick in, then another 40 days for the waters to keep going down. If we count the original 40 days of rain, we’re looking at around 230 days with water covering the Earth. But hold on, that’s not the end of the story.

3) It’s pretty cool to think about what happens next. In verse 5 of chapter 8, we see Noah opening up a window he had made in the ark. He sends out a raven, which flaps around the Earth. He also sends out a dove to look for dry land, but the dove comes back without finding any because there was still too much water. This was Noah’s way of checking if it was safe to leave the ark yet, and God was totally fine with that.

4) A week goes by, and Noah tries again with the dove. This time, the dove brings back a fresh olive leaf. That’s Noah’s clue that the water is finally going down. Another week passes, he sends the dove out again, and this time it doesn’t come back. That’s Noah’s sign that it’s all clear. After spending 265 days on the ark, which must have felt like forever, it was time for a fresh start. And isn’t that something we can all relate to? Waiting for the right moment to begin anew.