Devotion: Ruth & Ruth
Ruth & Ruth
Please take a moment to read Ruth 1:1-5,11-18
Sometimes, I believe, God just loves to mess with me. You see, these scriptures are assigned months in advance. When I received my assignment, I just smiled. What are the chances that this particular woman’s name is near and dear to me? Ruth was my mother’s name and is my middle name. And for my wedding, one of the songs chosen by me, was “Entreat me not to leave you”.
This biblical Ruth is a special soul. She faced incredible challenges and losses. She left her people to go with her mother-in-law to a strange and hostile land. Naomi warned her, but with courage and faithfulness, she made her decision to follow her back to Bethlehem. She had to forget her troubles, and go forward with a new life. Read the rest of the chapter to learn how she followed instructions to her future!
Ruth Bell Graham is another strong and courageous woman. Hoping to be a missionary in Tibet, she had her dreams forever altered when she met and married Billy Graham. He knew the life he was planning and she needed to understand her place in it. His words, “I’ll do the leading, and you’ll do the following.” And from that moment on, she never looked back. She kept looking forward to wherever God and Billy led her. After five children and many world tours, she is quoted as saying, ”Make the least of all that goes and the most of all that comes, and keep looking forward. Don’t look backwards.” Those are tough words to live by but she made the best of it. Writing more than a dozen books, volumes of poetry and stories for children, she ministered to individuals and her family.
My Ruth story is also one of incredible hardship. At the age of 70, my dad had a farm accident that changed my mother’s life forever. He was paralyzed from the chest down and could not breathe, eat, or move on his own. She went from a busy farmer’s wife to being his voice, his advocate and his future. She had to put aside the loss of the normal routines and face an uncertain tomorrow. She taught us all to have faith and courage that God was going to be with her and my dad.
I’m going to end this devotion with Pastor Michelle’s prayer, although she told me it is in the LBW (that is the Lutheran Book of Worship for those unfamiliar with that acronym). That’s the Green Hymnal.
Let us pray…
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Written by Cindy Swanson
Cindy and her husband, Ray, have been members of Sheridan Lutheran Church since 1978. They have three sons, Ben, Andrew and Patrick who were confirmed at Sheridan. They enjoy spending time with their grandchildren who range in age from 4-10. Cindy retired from teaching writing to middle schoolers for Lincoln Public Schools in 2014. She savors a good cup of coffee, a well-written book, a lively discussion and chocolate. She lives near a cemetery and knows each day is a gift!