Home again...

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

Good morning, dear friends!

Photo: jingoba pixabay

May in France is what I call the Swiss cheese month.  There are so many vacation days, long weekends, and days missed that I think we are "off" more than we are "on." This year is just crazy: there are FOUR long weekends this month, with the schools and businesses extending the days off to three and even four-day weekends! Add in a few odd strike days here and there, and you get the idea:  May is definitely not a working month for a lot of people in France...

I am certainly not complaining.  If anything, it almost makes up for the sting of my children being in school until July....

This weekend was our long four day one we have every May, and I honestly didn't see the time go by, with  Bible conference (subject for another post), and an extended visit with friends and a church in the Paris area.  It was one of those weekends that get packed down to the wire with so many good memories and fun times that it's almost too difficult to come home.

Well, almost.  It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night....

One of the hardest things for my family as missionaries is travelling to a new location, falling in love with the people there, and then after a week or so of intense fellowship, leaving and doing it all over again.  When our children were younger, they were not as sensitive to it, but now it seems as though one of them is lamenting someone they have left behind.

This weekend was no exception.  We visited with friends from all over France, stayed with a church dear to our hearts and got to know the folks there even better, and then left again.  Our schedules will probably not permit visits any time soon, so I guess we'll be keeping Facebook hot for a while.

Can I say just once again how much Facebook is a missionary's friend?

Weekends like this make me think a little about heaven this morning.  There are so many things to be thankful about in heaven, but one of the most encouraging things to me is that it is forever.  No more goodbyes, for anyone.  I will never be separated from my God.  I will never be separated from my loved ones.  I will be in one place (a missionary mom's dream) forever!

Woo hoo!

Hope to see you all there, one day!  Until then, I choose to keep my "goodbyes" few, and my "see you laters" many.

Satisfied

"But godliness with contentment is great gain..."  I Timothy 6:6

Photo:  charlemagne pixabay

Good morning, dear friends,

Earlier this week we enjoyed unseasonably warm weather.  It felt almost like summer for us, instead of spring!  How inviting it was to be outside in the bright sunshine, watching the world shake off winter's sleep, and enjoy all the sights and smells of a glorious spring day.

I must confess to feeling a little light-heartened and excited as I walked to school to pick up our kids at the end of the day.  Many of my neighbors were out and about, walking as I was to get their children as well.

"Isn't the weather beautiful?" I asked one lady that I had talked to before in our village.

"It is nice, but it won't last.  They are already predicting bad weather for the end of the week."

I was a bit surprised by her pessimism, but I was undaunted.  I continued on my walk, and commented to several other people in the same way.

The second person that answered me, answered like the first.  I didn't pay much attention until I was reminded by FOUR separate people on the same walk, that bad weather was coming, and not to get too attached to the warm sun.

Once, I might not notice, or chalk it up to subdued realism. After all, we get a LOT of rain in our area.  But after several of my greetings were rebuffed in the same way, it was almost enough to discourage even my enthusiasm for the pretty weather.  It made me stop and think:

Why is it so hard to be satisfied?

Obviously, sunny weather cannot stay sunny forever.  If it did, people would complain about drought conditions, or forest-fire scares.  I still remember the summer before Timothy was born, and the thousands of people who died in the massive heat wave that claimed our country for several weeks.

But, in all fairness, can I do anything to change the weather?  Absolutely not.  Does not God send the weather, the sunshine and the rain?  Is He only good, when He sends the weather that I want on a given day, and withholds "bad weather," just because it is not convenient for me?  Or is my God bigger than my weather forecast?

Of course He is.  So, sunshine or rain, should I not rejoice in the day that I am given?

One of my favorite verses about contentment in the Bible is quoted at the top of this blog:  "But godliness with contentment is great gain." (I Timothy 6:6)  I understand that Paul in this passage is talking about my physical and material wealth and well-being, but aren't all blessings, whether physical or monetary, gifts from my Heavenly Father's hand?  Learning to trust in my God, who is good and loving all the time, should allow me to find peace in my heart, enough to be content with my present circumstances.

Understanding that God's goodness is always prevalent, in sunshine or in rain, should help me to appreciate whatever weather the Lord sends my way today.

Don't get me wrong--for special preaching meetings on Thursday, I am praying for sunshine, if nothing else to make things run more smoothly for those arriving, and those of us taking care of wiggly children all day long.
At the same time, if the Lord sees fit to send us "showers of blessings," I hope I will not be one to complain.

I will hope that I will be satisfied, whatever my loving God has in store for me...

Countdown

"Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am." Psalm 39:4

Good morning, dear friends!

Our kids went back to school yesterday morning from their last (for this school year) break before the "big vacations" that start in July.

Let's just say that there were some reluctant children heading off for school today.

It's strange that when they arrive at the last day before a vacation, I can't get them out the door fast enough.  They are so excited to start, that I don't have to encourage them much.  I guess they figure, if that start sooner, they'll finish sooner.

I can't blame them.

To help my children, especially my youngest son Joshua, get motivated for the remaining days, we counted down on the calendar.  Just 35 more school days.  Even that didn't encourage him much.  So, I counted out 35 small candies and put them in the smallest glass that we own.  I told my children that everyday one of them would eat a candy, and when there were no more candies in the jar, then we were on vacation.

This seemed to perk them up.  After all, they saw that there really weren't that many candies in the glass, and the prospect of having a piece every third day was appealing to them.

WHEW--necessity really is the mother of invention!

My kids know that their time at school is limited.  They know that they have only a few short days until vacation starts.  And that final countdown is the most important thing to them right now.

If only I considered my days in the same way...

I was thinking about my life's countdown today, and I came across a verse I don't ever remember reading before in Psalm 39: 4:  "Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am." As I attempted to memorize this verse, I took the verse apart piece by piece:

"Lord, make me to know...": God alone knows how many days I will have on this earth.  He has counted out my days, like I did with the candies in the glass for my children.  Still, I can ask God to make me conscient of the time that is left for me.

"...mine end..." Every life on earth one day will come to an end, and mine is not an exception.  Instead of living in fear of the how of my life's end, I should be concerned with 1) how I live my days, and 2) where I am headed when this life is over.

"...and the measure of my days, what it is..."  Since I know that God already knows the length of my life, the height and the breadth  are what preoccupy me in this part of the verse.  My life will reach as high as heaven, but will I take people with me?   My life will be as wide and far reaching as I allow God's love to reach through me today.

"...that I may know how frail I am."  Even in my physical strength, I am weak.  My life is so short compared with eternity, and with an eternal God.  May God help me to remember how quickly life will be over, and to do everything I can to buy back the opportunities that God places in front of me today.

Psalm 39:5 is food for another day, but worth adding on to this verse: "Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand breadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity."

How short my life is, compared with my God.  How vain and empty are my days, if He is not in the center of them.

Lord, teach me to be mindful of the days you entrust to my life...

Clutter, clutter, everywhere...

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites!" Matthew 23:27

Good morning, dear friends,

Clutter, clutter, everywhere, as far as the eye can see...
Clutter, clutter, everywhere, and no one to blame but me.

My house may seem tidy at times, but please don't open any doors. Period.

What might look like a tidy kitchen, in reality looks more like this....

Or this...

Or this.

Why am I showing my untidyness?  Maybe to shame myself into getting something done about it.

I'm not reading any more articles about cleaning clutter, or what causes clutter, or how to eliminate clutter in my life.  I know what causes clutter in my house, and no, it's not my children.  (Well, not JUST my children.)

The real cause of clutter?

Laziness...on my part.

Instead of putting something back in an orderly fashion in the drawer, or closet, or wherever it goes, I just shove it back in, thinking that I am saving time, thinking that I'll get around to putting it away later.

We all know how that goes.  I am not saving time; I am just making my work load harder for myself.  We all know that LATER never comes.

When will I learn?

As long as my house looks tidy on the outside, in front of the closed doors, I'm not as picky with what goes on behind those closed doors.  There are things that need to be thrown away, things that are broken and need to be replaced, and some things in there that should never be there.

And, unfortunately, it's not always limited to my house.

Spiritual clutter is a much bigger problem than having a disorderly house.  On the outside, I try to make a nice appearance, both physically and spiritually.  The Lord knows, however, what is going on behind closed doors.

Sometimes, it's not pretty.

There are sins that need to be confessed and thrown away.  There are past sins that are forgiven that I allow to burden my heart with guilt today.  There are sinful attitudes that I must forsake, and replace with Christlike attitudes.  There are worries, fears, and angers that have no place in my life, period.

A very humbling passage to me has been Matthew 23: 27-28.   Jesus is addressing the Pharisees, who placed so much importance on their outward appearance being "spotless," but their insides were just a mess.  Like me.  My outside appearance may line up with what a godly Christian should look like, but how about my insides?

Is there jealousy or discontentment there?

Am I believing God's truth, or is Satan whispering doubt and other lies to my heart?

Am I bitter toward someone? Angry? Impatient?  Frustrated?

Am I unloving to someone today?

How much more should I be willing to "clean house," beginning with my heart.  I need to...

...throw out what is useless. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" (Ephesians 4:31)

....replace what is broken. "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24)

....eliminate the extras that keep my life from being "tidy". "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us," (Hebrews 12:1)

May the Lord help me today to clean house, spiritually speaking.  May I not allow sin to clutter up my life, making me unfruitful and unuseable for His service today.

And, just so I don't break faith with my readers, I did a little spring cleaning as well...

The Mother of All Blessings

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed..." Proverbs 31:28

Good morning, dear friends!

Photo: lovetotakephotos pixabay

Happiest of Mother's Day to all my American mom friends today!  I hope this day is incredible for you, and that you make lots of special memories today, and remember lots more.  For those of you whose moms had been "promoted" to heaven, I pray that God will comfort you in His great love today.

Mother's Day in France is not until the end of the month here.  So, I actually get to celebrate this special day...twice!  Isn't it great to live between two countries?

When thinking about the special women in my life who have made such an impact, I have been blessed by at least three moms:  my mother, my mother-in-love, and my adopted mom, my mom in the faith.  All three of these women have left such a lasting impact on my life! I am so thankful for the hours they have invested in my life, and I hope that I will make them proud as I continue to live it.

I have left the most special "mom" in the Bible for today, and I must admit that I am certainly not qualified to speak much about this mom.  After all, there has never been, nor will ever be, another mom like Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus.

It's true that I don't spend a lot of time talking about Mary here in France.  In the country where we live, Mary is unduly exalted in sinless perfection, making her the equal if not superior to Christ.  To spend much time talking about Mary is to run the risk of reinforcing these false notions about Mary to the people with whom we are witnessing.

The truth is, Mary was a woman like me: ordinary.  In fact, she was chosen by God to be the earthly mother for His Son, because of her ordinariness.

What set Mary apart in her "ordinariness?"

1.  She was willing.

Her response to the angel's message, after asking about the "how" of her conception? "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38)

The word "handmaid" in this verse?  A female slave, one who is unquestionally obedient to Her Lord.  To say that she had no choice in the matter is not correct.  Rather, Mary chose to put herself under God's authority as His servant, laying aside her own desires, plans, and wishes, so that she could be obedient to God.

Am I not called to the same obedience in my life?  If I say that God is my Lord, then whatever He asks of me, whether great or small, should I not be willing to do it?

Mary faced many obstacles and heartaches in her obedience to the Lord.  Her life was not an easy one.  She was misunderstood, slandered, and ridiculed for her belief in God's promise.  Those who believed her story could be counted on both hands: her husband (who he himself had to be convinced by an angel), Zachariah and Elisabeth, the shepherds, the wise men.  As time went on, that number grew, but early on in her child's life, how hard at times it must have been for Mary suffer unjustly at the hands of so many who were close to her.

God never promises that faith will be cheap, and that there will not be persecutions for being His servant.  In fact, He promises just the opposite:  "Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution..." (2 Timothy 3:12)

Mary received confirmation about Jesus's calling from Anna and Simeon in the Temple, when she and Joseph presented Him for His dedication. At the same time, there was also a warning to her, something that probably set off the warning bells in her own mom-heart: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also...)" (Luke 2:34-35)

She knew her Son was destined for greatness, but at what personal cost to herself?  The promise that Mary would suffer is spoken with the same assurance as her Son's greatness.

Would I have had the faith to walk down that road, as Mary did?

2.  She was faithful.

Every child thinks that they know better than their mother, but imagine the case of Jesus! He really did!  And yet, the Bible assures me that Jesus "was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart." (Luke 2:51) Mary knew the miraculous story of Jesus's conception, birth, and God's calling on her Son's life.  To say that these things were difficult for Mary to understand is an understatement.  How humbling it must have been for Mary to know that she had been entrusted to be Jesus's earthly mother and caregiver, responsible for His physical training, as well as His spiritual training.  What a daunting task was set before her!

I wish sometimes that the Bible had more to say about Jesus's growing up years.  I can't wait to get to heaven and talk to Mary about it.  What is obvious to me, is that Joseph and Mary did not shirk in their task, or fail in their responsability to raise Jesus in the way He should go.  And yet, it is not perfection on Mary's childraising that Jesus turned out as He did.  Jesus had an imperfect mother, yet a perfect heavenly Father.

Even with an imperfect mother, Jesus turned out perfectly.  If ever there was an encouragement to my mom-heart, it is this:  I do not HAVE to be a perfect mom.  I will make mistakes.  I will fail in understanding, in love, in patience, in prayer.  God will still use me as a mom, to raise my children to follow Him,  if I make myself available to Him.

There is so much more to Mary's story that it would take more than a simple blog post to think about her life.  If I can just hold onto these two things--that Mary was willing and faithful to the calling God had put on her life--then I will be well on my way to fulfilling God's plan for me as a mom.

I don't know what blessings and burdens God will place on my heart as my children grow, but how I want to be willing and faithful.  I want to be willing to raise my children to love God, and to teach them all that they need to grow up to serve Him.  I want to be faithful in this task, all the days of my earthly life.  I know there will be joys and heartaches, celebrations and sadness, but if I can do these things in my life, I believe I will have done all that God has called me to be as a mom.

May God help all of us moms (and dads) today.  How much I need Him, to do all that I am supposed to do today...

The Mother of God's Messenger

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching..." Matthew 3:1

Good morning, dear friends!

Photo: rainermaiores pixabay public domain

I guess I am not very different from any other mother, when I say, I have the smartest, funniest, most beautiful, most talented, most put-together kids on the planet.  I'm sorry to disappoint all of you other mothers out there, but this is the truth, from my chair.

Of course, from your chair, it is the same perspective, just with your children.

After all, isn't that how it should be?  Shouldn't every mom place her greatest expectations in her children, and expect great things from her children?

Imagine if you knew, from their birth, exactly what those great things would be.  How different my perspective my child-raising would be, if I truly believed every day, with every decision and every choice that I faced, that my children were going to be used greatly by God in a specific and unique way!

Elisabeth knew from her God, all about the great things God had in store for her son John, before his birth.

What a humbling, exciting, and challenging assignment she was given by God!

Here are some thoughts that the Lord impressed on my heart as I was rereading her story today:

Elisabeth was an ordinary woman, with extraordinary faith.  Like many others in the Bible, Elisabeth had humble beginnings, and probably never even dreamed of the amazing plans that God had in store for her!  Her life may have been ordinary, but her faith was extraordinary.  The Bible gives a glimpse of her testimony:  "And they (Zachariah and Elisabeth) were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." (Luke 1:6)  What an amazing testimony!

She was older, and probably very settled in life.  There was a burden on her heart--no children--that she could not do anything about.  She knew her body was past the age of having children.  This is did not shake her faith in God.  Then, one day, Zachariah left for the Temple as he had other times in the past.  Everything was normal...until...the angel, the vision, the silence...and her world was turned upside down!  She didn't even have the assurance of the angel personally, but trusted in her husband's word (and the fact that he couldn't speak!) and in her God.  What joy she must have felt, knowing that the Lord had seen her deepest desire, her heart-felt plea, and had done the "impossible" for her to have her son!  As the angel assured Mary, Elisabeth's cousin, "For with God nothing shall be impossible!" (Luke 1:37)

Elisabeth did not try to keep her son from obeying God.  My children are still young, and I have not yet had the joy and heartache of sending my children out into the world to fulfill God's plans for their lives.  I have, however, heard many testimonies of mothers who, instead of letting their children leave to carry on God's work in the different corners of the world, placed obstacles in the path of their children's obedience.  This was certainly not the case for Zachariah and Elisabeth!  Not only did they encourage John to follow the Lord, they did not hold back at all in their training of him to do God's will.  If there is any doubt, read Zachariah's first words after he was able to speak in Luke 1:67-79.  Now there's a prayer of dedication for a child!  I am sure that Elisabeth's extraordinary faith rubbed off in this young man, because of the last verse in Luke chapter 1: "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit..."  Instead of discouraging her son from obeying God, she did everything she could to encourage his faith.

Obeying God's will for our children is not always easy.  There were certainly blessings in store for Zachariah and Elisabeth, as they raised young John to fulfill God's purpose in his life.  At the same time, there were also sorrows in store for them as well.  For example, the fact that John was born to them so late in life meant that they were probably not able to witness much of his adulthood.   In fact, there is no guarantee that Elisabeth was ever able to see her son fufill God's plan in his life! There is no indication that John ever married or had any children.  Elisabeth never had the joys of being a grandma to her son's children.    The path that God had traced for her son John was also not an easy one.  He physically lived a difficult life, without many of the comforts of his day.  His message was not an easy one, either: his task was to prepare a hardened, rebellious, oppressed people for meeting the Saviour!  He did not even live until old age, but was beheaded and martyred for his faith and obedience.  Had Elisabeth known fully what was in store for her son, would she have held him back?  Would she have tried to encourage him to follow a different path in life?  Thankfully, as a mom I do not know all the Lord has in store for my children, but I know that my God is faithful to sustain them through life.  Raising my children faithfully, and letting them go in God's hands, is as much as I can do for my children.  This Elisabeth did, and though at times it was difficult, she did not waver.

How can I let Elisabeth's life and faith encourage me as a mom today?

I can trust God to be faithful, even when I do not always understand the circumstances I am facing, in my life or in my children's lives.

I can pray that my children find God's way in service, and do all that I can to encourage them in that way.

I can put aside my own desires for their lives, and encourage them to seek God's will today in the little things: prayer, Bible reading, obedience, and Godly character.

I do not know what the Lord has in store for my children.  He alone knows, and I should not stand in His way.  His way is perfect.  What blessings are in store for my children, and for me, if I will only trust Him today...

Up tomorrow:  The Mother of All Blessings

Mother-in-Love

"There is a son born to Naomi..." Ruth 4:17

Photo: hannahpirnie pixabay public domain

Good morning, dear friends!

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