Ruth

Dear Lord

It is rare, Lord, when I feel you answer a prayer so loudly, so directly. I know you're always listening, but sometimes (usually?) I'm not. This time, I read it! I am in awe.

I prayed about my worry over marriage which spawned from reading a wedding magazine. I prayed over my doubt that I'll ever be married. That I'll ever have kids. That I'll ever know love or be loved. Or, that maybe I was worried for superficial reasons that were undeserving of God's attention. I asked for a sign, for help, for proof that I'd be married and have a family one day...

And then...

You helped me find Ruth.

I flipped randomly to a page just about halfway into the Old Testament. I felt the page tug me, and I opened it to read Ruth - a short four chapters lost between Judges (21 chapters) and 1 Samuel (31 chapters). I had heard about her in passing, of course; but I am in awe, Lord, that you would choose tonight to let me get to know her.

Ruth was childless when she lost her husband. She was, presumably, older now. "Past her prime" even? And she ended up leaving everything she knew to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi. Why? It doesn't say. Because Naomi was pitiful and needed her? Maybe she was too heart broken to go home. Or, maybe she needed an adventure? Whatever the reason, she accepted Naomi's God as her own - You, Lord - rather than her continuing to believe in her home's gods. And she made the trip to foreign lands.

She was poor. She needed charity to eat. She dedicated herself to her work and a life of service to her mother-in-law, in the name of the Lord.

And you provided.

A man, Boaz, saw her in the fields gleaning grain behind the harvesters, and he fell in love with her. Not her beauty (was she beautiful? It never even specifies). He falls for her because of her dedication, loyalty to his kinswoman Naomi, and her effort to provide for herself and her mother-in-law. So he stepped in and provided for her.

And when, one day, she came to him in a pleasing and open, honest manner - that is, putting effort into her looks and presenting herself to Boaz in a particular fashion (which historically is considered how a woman shows she is in the right frame of mind and ready to invite a man's attention) - Boaz agreed to help her marry. To "redeem" her (another term used historically when talking about the purchase of land to relieve debt or when marrying a dead brother's barren wife so that she may not be destitute).

Only, Boaz was in love with her, wasn't he? He told her that he knew of closer kin to Naomi than he. That if he could not find another kinsman-redeemer that he would take on the duty himself. But when he asked her closer kin, Boaz addressed the issue in such a way as to catch him off guard. Almost as a trick. Boaz first asks the man, will you redeem Naomi's land? The man says yes. Only then does Boaz mention Ruth. Will you redeem Ruth as well, as she is attached to the land and it is your duty as the closest of her kin? And he does not.

It's not said why he doesn't, perhaps he didn't like her. Or the burden of caring for her was too much to bare. In any case, Boaz was free to marry Ruth. So he did, and together they gave birth to a son. A boy who would one day grandfather David. The David of the "Line of David" from which Jesus will be born. 

.....I am in awe.

Out of everything I could have prayed, tonight. Out of everything I could have read, Lord. Of all the possible endings... to have so many impossible ends tied up into a single beautiful bow?? And what's more? I think I understand. Which rarely happens when I read the Bible.

No matter how hard or unlikely a situation: being a foreigner in a new land (Arizona!), being far from family (for two years!!), being poor and needing hand-outs (food stamps, anyone??), being unlucky in love (duh!), being past my prime (26?!?)... So long as I stay humble like Ruth and serve You and work hard and live with purpose and try my best to keep an open mind and be ready "to invite a man's attentions" (aka grow up and have confidence in myself); that the Lord will provide me with exactly the right man at exactly the right time.

And heck, Lord! If he likes me for me, feeds me, and happens to be rich (like Boaz); then that ain't bad either!

I don't need to worry about having it all right now, or even having it at all. Ruth was probably worried about the same thing, would she ever have kids? Meet a man to marry her in her situation and provide for her? Boaz had two other wives, too! But it wasn't until he found Ruth that they could (most likely) fulfill their destiny... continuing the line of David.

Please Lord, help me to be like Ruth - patient, diligent, humble, hard working - everything I'm not.

In Jesus name, Amen.