My first husband was buried on his 29th birthday after a two-year battle with cancer. This journey of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation was very difficult, but the impact of this loss has never left me ... even after 35 years without him. When I participated in GriefShare, a Christian grief recovery support group, I heard many stories of loss. The most painful stories told were of the loss of a child.
While in Moab, Naomi becomes a widow of an Israelite man and a grieving mother of two sons. She is now without any male protector, so she makes her way back home to family and friends with her widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth.
The two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (Ruth 1:19–21).
Through a series of circumstances, God provided a kinsman redeemer, Boaz. God’s hand was working ‘behind the scenes’ to provide for a widow’s needs. Ruth became Boaz’s wife and bore a son, Obed, the grandfather of King David.
Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him” (Ruth 4:14–15).
Thank you, Father, for your power to bring something good out of bitter circumstances.
Robin Copeland, Lenoir, N.C.
Extended Scripture: Ruth 3–4 (ESV)
