Lessons Learned From...Ruth.

Now that it's almost not Monday anymore...here is my Monday post.

To be fair, I had a busy week and was unable to write this post until today. And then I had a crazy day that involved being late to work thanks to a dog running under my car, a bug flying INSIDE of my keyboard at work (for all I know it's still in there), writing an article that I've known about for like a month but decided to wait until today (the day it's due) to start, and watching reality TV.

Oh, and did I mention that the keyboard on my Mac isn't working right? It's useable for the most part, but the delete key (which functions like the backspace for all you PC users) doesn't work AT ALL. Which is reeeeeeeaaaalllyyy inconvenient for someone who makes a lot of mistakes...

So, yeah. Anyway. Monday's post.

Via.

I'm going to be super intellectual today.

I've mentioned this before, but I work with elementary school girls at church every Sunday. A few weeks ago, we were learning about Ruth. I say "we" because despite the fact that I am one of the teachers and despite the fact that I have heard the story of Ruth hundreds of times, I actually learned something new.

Or, to be more accurate, I realized something I've never realized before which is totally, 100% applicable to my life.

To summarize: Ruth made a hard decision, to go to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi after they had both been widowed instead of returning to her home country with her family. They had no idea where they were going to end up, but they trusted that God would deliver. And He did. Ruth ended up marrying Boaz, who had a pretty fair share of wealth. That never would have happened if she had chosen to do the easy thing and return home.

That's the story as I've always known it. But when I was hearing it in Sunday School, it suddenly hit me for the first time: Ruth wasn't looking for a husband.

Ruth's motivation for going to Bethlehem with Naomi wasn't that she thought it would better her chances of remarrying. It wasn't that she thought she could meet a rich man there. Those things probably weren't on her mind at all.

Ruth's motivation for going to Bethlehem was that she felt it was the right thing to do. She chose to go with Naomi, to help support her, and to trust in her God because it was the right thing to do.

And the result? She married an awesome guy. (AND has both King David and JESUS as her direct descendants...)

People are always telling me not to look for a husband. That he'll come into my life when I least expect it.

While that's often true, it's not a rule. God's not going to withhold marriage from me just because I think about potential husbands every once in awhile.

Ruth wasn't looking for a husband, but the main thing I got from her story is why she wasn't looking for a husband.

She wasn't looking for a husband because she knew that she was not defined by a man. She wasn't looking for a husband because she knew that the most important thing was not a husband, but a relationship with God.

Ruth is an excellent example of how God comes through for those who follow Him wholeheartedly. If our priority in life is doing right by God, then we'll be just fine. He WILL provide and give us everything we need and more.

I have no idea why it took me almost 21 years to realize this, but my world has been changed. Not because I now know that the secret to finding a husband is following God (in NO way do I want that to be my motivation for my relationship with Him), but because it has opened my eyes to the truth that no one has my back more than God does.

He knows my heart, my needs, my desires, my wildest dreams, and He has the ability to make all of those things come true. Why wouldn't I want to devote my entire life to serving Him? It's the least I can do.

This week, I want to be like Ruth, choosing to do the right thing even when it's hard, not for anything I might get in return, but simply because it's the right thing to do.