Ruth and Mara and Naomi, all three

 On Sunday there was a baby dedication at church. The branch of the church that we worship with has the parents come to the front and, in the simplest way of describing it, ask for help in raising a child of God. We, as the body of Christ, commit to stand with them and support them as they strive to do that. It is simply a reminder that we are a team. 

  This baby stood out to me more than usual because her name is Ruth, which is my middle name. Her precious baby self called to me to remember the story of my name. 

 The story of Ruth is one of my favorite in the Old Testament. She is a foreigner, not a Hebrew, yet she ends up in the family line of King David. She experiences pain and loss, yet she holds onto hope. She doesn’t know all of the answers, so she trusts people she loves to lead her in truth. She works hard. She loves enthusiastically. She doesn’t give up. 

 Sometimes I think that those of us who study the Bible want to focus on Ruth too much and leave out Naomi. 

 Naomi had to have her time as Mara, her time in mourning, so that Ruth would come to the promised land, marry into what would become the royal line and eventually the birth line of Jesus. The bad was horrible. But it had to happen. It had to lead to the good later. 

 What God keeps pointing out to me, over and over, is that we have to have faith that our bad has a purpose too. Naomi didn’t get to meet King David, but she helped create his family line. We HAVE TO believe that our suffering leads to something good even if, sometimes, it is too far away for us to see.

 My grandma, who was literally and figuratively a Ruth in every way, was such a fabulous example of this to me. She loved others without condition. She gave and gave and gave. When she hurt, with my pastor grandfather in a coma for two years, slowly wasting away, I am sure she had moments when the Joy was hard to find and the Hope seemed out of reach, but she never quit loving others in the meantime. She never stopped. Then, after he died she still simply poured out love and trusted that her Savior would take care of her. 

 So, my goal is to be a Ruth in every way. I have had my Mara moments. They have to happen. Some amazing Ruth’s have helped me along the way, so I pray that they were strengthened in their ability to encourage in my moments of mourning. 

 I trust that my Savior used even my weak moments for good. 

 But now, I want to be a Ruth. I want to make that choice. I am praying that same strength over this new little baby Ruth in our church. The strength to share Hope even when it seems too far away. The ability to let Joy overflow onto others so passionately that they can’t help but absorb it. The Trust to grab ahold of Jesus’s hand and let Him lead even when the path is hard to see. 

 Be a Ruth my friends. Share your Mara past with others and help them overcome, but choose to be a Ruth. 

 Be blessed my friends, in both the rain and the sunshine, with the reminder of the promise that He is with you just like He was with Ruth and Naomi. (And Mara too)

Made perfect in weakness

 When I was a young girl there was a song sung by Twila Paris that, especially after I was diagnosed with diabetes, summed up my desire, my goal, for everything I wanted to be. Everything I hoped for my future was based around the ability to sing that song and mean it. 

I have pasted a link to YouTube and encourage you to listen to it. It is called The Thorn and is based around 2 Corinthians 12:7. 

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

 The ESV fits the song, calling it a thorn, but the MSG simplifies the meaning so nicely. 

 “I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:7-10‬ ‭MSG‬‬

 That scripture passage has meant a lot to me, always. But for some reason just a few nights ago it was brought to the forefront, heavily, again. 

 I am part of a Wednesday night ladies Bible study group. We are reading a book together, discussing what God is teaching us and sharing our burdens. All different ages, stages of life, backgrounds and I suppose different futures as well. Simply women. In the opening prayer, as a wonderful woman of God was lifting requests and giving thanks, I had impressed upon me SO STRONGLY the need to “thank Him for the thorn” of Covid. 

 Thank Him for Covid. 

 I wrote that, immediately, on a piece of paper in my devotional. 

 

“Thank you for Covid!? It made us be still and quiet for just a moment. Remind us of that.”

 Notice, I had to add a “?” at the end of the first statement. As I wrote that first line I wasn’t sure that I could mean it. However, God never stops with just the first line if we are listening. 

 I have mulled the whole thing over for a few days, and have been pulled back to the verses in 2 Corinthians over and over. That thorn, that handicap, was given for a reason. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. If I think I am strong, if I think I can do it on my own, then I am not letting Him be the strength. 

 Remember that, please, when you have a thorn poking at your side. Remember also thorns come in many different packages. 

 That last line that I wrote, “remind us of that”... I want to mean it. 

I don’t know, not really, if I meant “remind us to be still and quiet” or “remind us to be thankful”, but I want to mean both. 

 I am choosing to mean both. 

 Beautifully, this verse from Psalm 46:10 was placed directly in front of me as a confirmation of both. 

Be still. 

Know, and trust, that He is God and we can be THANKFUL for even more than we want to recognize. 

As Twila Paris sings, 

Thank you for this thorn   fellowship of pain
Teaching me to know you more   never to complain
Thank You for this love   planted in my side
Faithful patient miracle   opening my eyes.

 Remember to be still and quiet, for just a moment, and then to be thankful for that moment even if it was painful. 

 Be blessed my friends as you choose to trust Him today. Know that you are loved, always.