Wednesday Woman: Ruth

I love the Old Testament story of Ruth – a young widow who leaves her home country of Moab to follow the Hebrew God and care of her aging mother-in-law.

Ruth isn’t a push over.  She’s smart and savvy.  And when she arrives in her new country she doesn’t complain, “Oh, I wish I would have stayed in Moab.”  Ruth doesn’t blame God.  She doesn’t moan, “Why I am left without a husband?”  Instead, she gets to work.

Ruth gathers sheaves from the fields – leftover grain – to feed her and her mother-in-law, Naomi.  She doesn’t resent Naomi.  She doesn’t say, “Why I am stuck caring for this old woman?”   She respects Naomi.  She values Naomi.  And she cares for her as she would care for her own mother.  Simply put, when the going got tough, Ruth got going.

The thing I love about Ruth most?  She isn’t stuck on Plan A.  In fact, when Plan A crashes, she opts for Plan B.  And she doesn’t drag her feet or say, “No one has it as hard as I do. What other choice do I have?”  Make no mistake, Ruth had a choice.  She wasn’t out of options.  She could have stayed in Moab, shacked up with a Moabite dude and abandoned her aging mother-in-law.  Instead, she follows her heart and her God, embracing Plan B with zeal and faith.

Ruth goes on to meet a handsome prince.  She has children of her own – and her seed even becomes part of the line of Jesus.  Just think, if Ruth had stayed in Moab she would have missed out.  Who would have thought that a widow from Moab would go down in history as one of the greatest women of faith?

Sometimes Plan B is far superior to Plan A.  Like Ruth, sometimes we just need the guts to follow our heart and our God. 

Have you ever realized that Plan B might be want God intended in the first place?