Journeying with Ruth

It never ceases to amaze me how God works in my life, or maybe better put, what He has to do to get my attention. But Sunday, He knew exactly what to do.

My Pastor is on sabbatical for the summer, which I think is a very cool thing for the church to give him. A time to re-tool, re-fresh, re-focus, and to finish his doctorate. As a result of his absence, our youth pastor is stepping up to the plate and doing a majority of the teaching. Pastor Nate, like Pastor Karl truly has the gift of teaching, we are doubly blessed as a church. Sunday morning when Pastor Nate took to the pulpit, he told how he would be teaching through the Book of Ruth. 'Great!', I thought, 'I love the Book of Ruth!' Little did I know what was next.

As he started to teach, a wave of emotion overtook me, then came a flood, soon followed by a tsunami. It felt as though the Lord tore wide open my heart leaving me feeling raw, vulnerable and as though Dale has only passed away the day before. It was all new, and fresh again. My it hurt! As Pastor Nate continued teaching, my tears continued, I wanted to get up and go home, but one downside to the habit of sitting at the front, is everyone would see me go. I stayed, and endured.

Prior to Sunday, I was feeling very overwhelmed with the fact I would soon be looking for full time work. I have never had to work outside the home. I have never wanted to. I was blessed to have a husband who was a wonderful provider, which allowed me to take care of him and the girls, and to do the things I love doing. Fear, gripping fear, anxiousness, anger, had hold of my heart. Why at age 50 was I now having to do something I have never wanted to do?

Monday morning, still feeling raw, I sat to have my devotions, and decided that there must be a reason the Lord has Pastor Nate teach about Ruth. There must be a reason why God tore open the floodgates of my heart. I would study the Book of Ruth during the time Pastor Nate would be teaching it. I would make it mine. I would see what the Lord had for me in it. He never wastes time when it comes to His word.

As I reread the first 18 verses over and over, I keep saying, through more tears, 'I want to be faithful like Ruth', ' I want the same kind of faith Naomi and Ruth had.' Faithful. As the week progressed, as I continued to reread those same verses, God was strengthening my heart. I went to a book case and pulled out a very precious book, called God Rules, God Cares, and God provides: Lessons from the Book of Ruth, by Dale Valovich. I held the book, caressed it, turned to the last page and smiled at Dale's picture, and cried some more. I started to reread the book. It was good to 'hear' his voice again. To read his words that he spoke as he taught the Book of Ruth, and how it spoke to my heart, as his words spoke to me.

I have come to some wonderful conclusions this week, some new realizations, some new joys, and I wanted to share them, as perhaps, there is one out there who like me is a widow, and is dawning on a new horizon. In the weeks to come I will be writing what I learn, sharing my heart perhaps in a different way than I have before.

I hope you will be blessed by this journey with Ruth and I. I hope someone will be helped and encouraged by it. I am excited to see where the Lord takes me as I go out to 'glean' in the fields, being obedient to whatever He calls me to.