The Book of Ruth: Reflections on Mothers Day
Mom and I in Savannah, GA The first book of the Bible I ever fell in love with is the book of Ruth. I am enamored with the rich, wonderful love story...but not what you might think. I'm talking about the relationship between Ruth and her mother-in-law. Merely four chapters before the books of Samuel, Ruth is a young woman of Moab who married a man from the far away land of Bethlehem. Within a decade, Ruth's husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law are dead, leaving only Ruth, her sister-in-law, Orpah, and mother-in-law, Naomi. Deciding to head for home, Naomi tells the young women to return to their families. Orpah leaves, but Ruth refuses to go. "Whither thou goest, I will go," she vows. And she followed her mother-in-law all the way home to Bethlehem to begin life over again. They are bonded in grief, mutual respect, and new-found faith. Not afraid of hard work, Ruth sets about to make a living for herself and Naomi. It was a hard thing to be a woman w...