"There is a son born to Naomi..." Ruth 4:17
 |
| Photo: hannahpirnie pixabay public domain |
I do have a small pet peeve, a tiny one, that I hope will not cause me to lose friends or shock anyone. Are you ready?
I hate, loathe and despise the term "mother-in-law."
It's not just because of all of the mother-in-law jokes I hear. It's deeper than that: if the only reason I am attached to my "mother-in-law" is because of the law, then I am in a sad place, indeed. After all, the only reason I am attached to my husband shouldn't be because the law says that I am, should it? Of course not. I love my husband, and so his mom should be my "mother-in-love," right?
I'm so glad I heard my pastor's wife refer to her mother-in-love in this way, long before I ever met my husband. It helped me long before the fact, to approach my relationship with my husband's mom in a totally different light. I am sure that I have not always been the perfect daughter-in-love, but I know what a gem I have in my husband's mom.
To be honest, my mother-in-love is sort of a legend here with the people that know her in France. Everywhere I go among Christian circles here, my mother-in-love is greatly loved, esteemed, and respected. She is known for her gentle, humble spirit, her kind words, her smile and sense-of-humor, and her open love for anyone and everyone. I have never heard anyone speak ill of her. What a testimony to her 35+ years here in France! When I hear people refer to Mrs. Abbett, I know by their words that they are not referring to me, but the REAL Mrs. Abbett.
I'm okay with that. If one day people can think of me in a fraction of the nice ways that they do of my mom-in-love, I will be very thankful.
Thinking about my mom-in-love this week reminds me of a very special relationship that I read about in the Old Testament of a courageous mother-in-love and her relationship to her son's wife: Naomi and Ruth. Many times Naomi is the sideshow in the love story of Ruth, but actually it should be the contrary: Without Naomi, there would be no Ruth and Boaz, and how much different the lineage of Christ would have been!
Here are a few reflections on the life of Naomi that God allowed me to witness this week:
Becoming part of a family is a forever thing. Ruth realized that her marriage to Naomi's family was a forever change in her life. After having experienced the joys of belonging to Naomi and the blessings of worshipping their God, Ruth was loathe to return back to the way her life was before. Ruth 1:16 records Ruth's words to her mother-in-love: "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." She literally BEGGED Naomi to let her stay with her! I would say that was a WIN for any mother-in-love: to have cultivated such a love and bond that not even the death of her son could break. What a testimony Naomi must have been to Ruth during the time of her marriage to her son!
As a child of God, I am not immune to suffering. I know that this is often said, but God's children will suffer on this earth. Sometimes it is because of my wrong choices and bad decisions, and other times it is a direct result of serving God. Although Elimelech may not have made the best decision by leaving Israel to go to Moab, Naomi followed her husband and was faithful to him. The death of her husband and then her sons must have been a great burden to her. What had Naomi done to "deserve" this? Nothing, because the things she experienced were out of her control. Instead of searching for the "whys" of sufferings and unpleasant times on earth, I need to look to the "who": the God who guides me during these difficult times. The Bible reminds me in Psalms 34:19, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all."
The decisions that I make when I am hurting do not only affect myself. When I hurt, my first reaction is either that I withdraw into myself or I lash out at others. Both of "defense" mechanisms, and both are wrong. Let's face it: Naomi had a very hard time adjusting to her present situation. She accused the Lord directly of taking her husband and children from her: "...for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home empty...seeing that the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?" (Ruth 1:20-21) Naomi could have shut herself off completely from the Lord during this trying time. Even though she believed the Lord was responsible for her sufferings, she still held to her faith in Him. This is evidenced in the testimony that she left with her daughters-in-love, who were willing to leave their country and their gods behind to follow Naomi back to her people. The blessing that Naomi left with them is testimony also of her faith in God: "the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest..." (Ruth 1:8-9) In the midst of deep sufferings Naomi did not forget God. When I am faced with great trials in my life, though my faith may waver, it should not break. The decision to serve God even in difficult times will affect my testimony in my family, and to others around me.
I should seek to help others, no matter what I am going through personally. Naomi had suffered much, adjusting to the loss of her husband and her two sons. It would have been easy and humanly speaking normal for her to withdraw from others to "lick her own wounds," and forget about the needs of others around her. Instead, up her return to Israel, she looked to her own needs, and the needs of her daughter-in-love: "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that if may be well with thee?" (Ruth 3:1) She was prepared with wisdom and sound advice in Ruth's dealings with Boaz (Ruth 3:2-4). Naomi recognized that the same God who had brought her through great sufferings had not abandoned her, but was leading she and Ruth along to blessings: "Blessed be the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead." (Ruth 2:20) In helping Ruth during her time of suffering, Naomi also helped herself, and renewed her faith in God in the process. Little did she know that one day the Lord would use Naomi to become the great-great grandma to King David, and the great-grandma many times over to the Lord Jesus Himself!
Who doesn't love a happy ending? What started out as a story of tragedy in Naomi's life became a story of triumph! Naomi had seen much, and suffered much during her life, but the birth of Ruth's son was such a consolation to her! Those around Naomi encouraged her with these words:
"Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day with a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter-in-(love) which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him." (Ruth 4:14-15)
None of this would have happened in Naomi's life, if she had simply quit on the Lord, or given up in her sufferings.
May the Lord help me in difficult times to look always to Him, and trust Him for my present circumstances, and for the future path in which He is leading me. After all, the same God who leads me into deep waters in my life is the same one who leads me safely to the other side, if I will trust Him.
And one day, if the Lord allows me to be a "mother-in-love" to my children's husband and wives, may God allow me to pour myself in their lives as faithfully as Naomi did, to Ruth's.
Up Tomorrow: The Mother of God's Messenger
No comments:
Post a Comment