Bethany's Flood

Rain has flooded the Shepards' bathroom, the sewer line is backed up, and Bethany wants a dog or a cat - but her mother says no, and expects her to trust and obey anyway. Off in the chapel, Connie tells the day-camp kids about Noah, who obeyed God's strange instructions even when he didn't understand them. That's when Bethany's imagination runs wild... suddenly she's sailing the flood aboard an ark-vac with Noah, dodging pirates, icebergs, cannon fire, and a bandit named El Nino who left the shower running. When she finds the dogs and cats on board and begs to take one home, Noah refuses: she must obey her mother just as he obeys God. As disaster looms and even Noah starts to doubt, it's Bethany who reminds him that you don't have to understand in order to trust. She wakes from her daydream to a rainbow, a safely ended flood, and a lesson that stuck - even if her retelling hopelessly scrambles Noah, Hamlet, Thomas Jefferson, and Christopher Columbus into one soggy adventure.

Found on In Your Wildest Dreams Album 34 · 17 episodes

The run See every episode

0441b Idol Minds While Whit is away for two weeks, the kids of Odyssey turn to Eugene's technology to fill the void - with results no one anticipates.

0442a Two Roads Two boys from the same neighborhood face the same spilled-candy temptation in a school cafeteria - and Whit follows the very different roads their choices set them on.

0442b Sticks and Stones When a former classmate he once tormented returns to Odyssey as a potential business rival, Bart Rathbone launches a scheme to drive him out of town before old scores can be settled.

0443 Changing Rodney A gifted young student sets out to reform the school bully with relentless kindness - and learns that changing a heart is harder than acing any test.

0444a Career Moves A middle schooler's career-fair internship at the Electric Palace teaches him Bart Rathbone's sales tricks - until a customer's return puts his conscience to the test.

0444b The Bad Guy When a notorious troublemaker from his past arrives in Odyssey claiming to be a changed man, a skeptical Nick Mulligan sets out to prove the transformation is too good to be true.

0444c Bethany's Flood When a flooded bathroom coincides with the story of Noah's ark, young Bethany's imagination sets sail on a wildly mixed-up voyage that teaches her about trust and obedience.

0445 No Boundaries Tired of his parents' rules, a boy gets the chance to experience a life with no limits at all - and learns what freedom without boundaries really costs.

0446a A Matter of Manners When two boys banished from Whit's End for rudeness reinvent themselves as the school's manners experts, their newfound politeness becomes a weapon nobody can defend against.

0446b The Seven Deadly Dwarves A little girl's mixed-up Sunday school lesson becomes a fairy-tale dream in which Princess Snow DeWhite, misled by a talking mirror, flees her father's hardware-store kingdom and falls in with seven dwarves named for the deadly sins.

0447 Potlucks & Poetry A teenage poet's secret reading collides with a church potluck as three generations of her family scheme to avoid embarrassing - and being embarrassed by - each other.

0448 Mandy's Debut A young playwright's opening night at Whit's End puts two comedies of guilt and neglected chores on stage - with her friends cast as themselves.

1 of 2 0449 The Big Deal When her parents forbid her from taking the theater role of a lifetime, Aubrey travels through the Imagination Station to the wilderness of a fearless prophet, hoping to learn how to stand up to them.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 9 more roles

9 supporting roles

Ben Shepard Jerry Houser Ellen Shepard Carolyn Hennesy Noah Jerry Houser Sam Nathan Carlson Mrs. Noah Carolyn Hennesy Columbo Actor Unknown Hamlet Danielle Judovits Jefferson Will Ryan El Niño Walker Edmiston

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Jim Ware Writer Phil Lollar Director · Producer Jonathan Crowe Sound Designer · Producer Al Janssen Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Days of heavy rain have backed up the sewer line at the Timothy Center and flooded the Shepards’ bathroom. While Ben searches for a wet-dry vacuum, Bethany again asks for a dog or cat. Ellen refuses and tells her daughter that she must trust her mother’s judgment even when she does not understand it.

Ellen sends Bethany to the chapel, where Connie is telling the day-camp children about Noah. Connie explains that Noah obeyed God’s instructions to build the ark even when he did not fully understand them. Noah enters with his wife, his sons and their wives, and the animals before the flood comes.

Bethany’s imagination blends the account with the flooded bathtub and everything her family has recently discussed. The wet-dry vacuum becomes an ark-vac that sails away carrying Bethany, Noah, Mrs. Noah, and sons named Sam, Hamlet, and Jefferson. El Niño becomes a California bandit who left the shower running, Christopher Columbus joins him as a pirate, and the ark somehow sets course for both Philadelphia and the discovery of America.

Amid icebergs, cannon fire, and a whirlpool, Bethany finds the dogs and cats aboard the vessel and asks to take one home. Noah refuses and says that she must obey her mother just as he has obeyed God. When disaster seems certain, even Noah wonders why God has allowed it. Bethany reminds him that understanding is not required for trust.

Bethany prays, acknowledging that she does not understand but knows that God loves them. Connie’s voice returns to the actual account and explains that God remembers Noah and every living creature in the ark. Bethany emerges from her daydream delighted that God has brought everyone safely through the flood.

Her retelling to Ellen and Connie hopelessly mixes Noah, Hamlet, Thomas Jefferson, Columbus, pirates, California, and the overflowing bathtub. Yet one lesson remains clear: Bethany trusts that God loves and protects His people, and she understands that she should obey her mother. When the rain ends and a rainbow appears, Bethany remains hopeful that faithful obedience might even lead to a dog or cat someday.