Her First Day...

I have always adored the story of Ruth which you know if you’ve been here for long but over the last few years, as the Lord has grown me through my own journey, I’ve pondered the human side of her life. Yes, the spiritual, God-ordained bits are amazing and I’m a sucker for a classic romance but let’s step back and face Ruth, not as the great grandmother of King David, but as Ruth, the very human woman who was not as different from us as we’d like to believe. 

We know that Ruth was a young woman, recently widowed, who made the amazing decision to uproot her life and follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to a potentially not great situation. We aren’t told if Ruth loved her husband or not but I’d like to believe she had some affection based on the loyalty she continues to show so heartbreak is not unthinkable. Then what about this change of location? Think about why Naomi and her family had left originally. Things weren’t great… actually they were pretty terrible. Don’t you wonder if the family talked about how awful it was in their homeland… filling their daughters-in-law with pictures of trouble and emptiness? Now, because she loves Naomi and wants to support her, she is walking back to a land of burdens and one that isn’t welcoming to her people. 

How would you fair? I wouldn’t be in my best form if I’m honest. Actually,l Ruth’s opening is anxiety inducing without knowing the ending and she didn’t just as we don’t know the ending to our long journey. The start of her story is definitely a lot to consider from the humanity perspective but that’s not what I’ve really been touched and convicted by in recent months. No, there is just one moment that keeps coming up… her first day.

Not her first day of the journey or her first day back in Bethlehem. No, I’ve been considering her first day in the field. Actually, the moments before that. See, I am often overwhelmed by how small decisions can change our entire lives and how often those decisions aren’t the ones we want to make. 

Here’s poor Ruth, facing a rough future as far as she knows. No prospects, no security, no hope, if we’re honest. The “best option” she has is one of humility and desperation and I can’t help but wonder what went through her mind? The inner dialogue, the fears, the questions, the regrets. She had to be so overwhelmed and yet, that first day changed everything. For the better at that! But what if she had refused? What if she decided to go home? Find herself an easy catch for Hubby #2? Given up a few steps before her epic romance? 

I’ve been reminded recently of some of my “first days” that, had I not walked into them, I would have missed it all. Substitute teaching, which felt like a personal failure at the time, but ultimately led to getting my teaching credentials and finally my mission field. A hard conversation that felt like a slammed door but actually brought more opportunities and growth than I could have ever imagined. My first moment walking into a therapist’s office thinking I had let myself down only to find more healing and restoration than I deserved. 

We all have moments where we could have chosen something else because it would have been easier at the moment or more comfortable. I know in my life, had I chosen differently… something comfortable, expected or less humbling, I’d have missed the big, God size moments that can only define our lives in hindsight. 

There’s one other moment that you can’t separate from your “first day”, a moment that might be even more crucial… the second day. It takes a lot to show up on day one but sometimes, it takes even more courage to come back for day two. Ruth now knew what back breaking work was before her each day. She wasn’t confused about the loneliness laying before her or even the safety concerns so day two might have been even less appealing than the previous one but she kept going through and that led to one of the most beautiful hindsight moments, 

“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of King David.” 

A lineage, her lineage. Not from the Old Testament but from the New. The lineage of the long awaited Messiah and a lineage that included her first day and many others. What a great reminder for the next time we’re facing a challenging first day. What bigger picture are you walking into?