Bitter yet Beloved

I am meditating on...

the story of Ruth

And especially about Naomi.

She was a bitter women.

Life had dealt hard with her...

the loss of her husband and her two sons,

a foreigner in a strange land, away from home due to a "famine in their land",

daughter-in-laws from a pagan culture,

and yet...

her daughter-in-law Ruth wanted to be with her, wanted to go with her, live where she lived, worship her God.

Why ?

From my experience, bitter people are not usually the kind you want to follow or be around for an extended length of time.

Noami did not seem to have an evangelistic mind. After all, she told her daughter in laws to "return to their own gods". Really?

So why? What was it that tugged at Ruth's heart? Did she see a deep, abiding, personal faith in her elderly mother in law that defined her next steps? Was Ruth intrigued with their religion after observing it likely in her husband and his family? Was she able to see beyond the hopelessness of her pagan culture? Did she get a glimpse into the potential of a different life lived with a different focus?

Did she have an inherent sense of loyalty (possibly ingrained in her from her youth?), an abiding connection to family, even the one you marry into?

Did she have a deep love for Naomi?

Although "bitter", was Naomi likely kind, caring and loving? Was their relationship one of personal compassion, a bond that can only be described by love?

Or was it simply (and very powerfully) the Spirit of God working in her heart and drawing her to Him? Did God see in her the makings of a matriarch of royal consequence?

We will never know the answers this side of Heaven.

But several things beg my spiritual attention.

1. God works and His ways are beyond our ways

2. God can work with a broken, embittered soul

3. God understands our hearts and everything that we go through

4. I want to be such that my daughter in laws will feel beloved by and for me, that they would see beyond my many faults and continue to love me anyway, sensing my mutual love for them (not that I would expect them to follow me in such a situation. Just saying... :)

5. God has a plan for each of us and will see it to completion when we let Him work in us

6. God's plans can sometimes surprise us

7. God can present Himself to His creation even when those around them do not reflect Him well

8. I want to be one that does reflect Him well, to always have an eternal perspective and be ready to share Jesus and not push others back to their old ways, no matter what

I love the beautiful story of Ruth; a story of redemption within the bigger Redemption Story!

It is a validation of what my heart already knows; that grandchildren are precious gifts that can uplift the heart and point us towards hope for what is to come!

Thank you Jesus, for this beautiful story of a dear women...

Bitter yet Beloved and ultimately...

Blessed

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