By Watching Her…
By Shanna Cole
Ruth 2:12
May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.
We can learn, oh so much from Ruth. It may be a short book of the Bible but to me it is the foundation of so many things we need to know to become better Christians. Since doing a bible study on Ruth, I came to realize, I am a lot like Ruth but only because I watched my mom who was a lot like her first.
You see, growing up I wouldn’t say we were super close. She was a parent, not the friend like you see in some mother-daughter relationships today. So, I learned a lot by watching her, not by conversation. As I got older, yes, we became close and after my dad’s passing, we became friends, then I learned through conversation. I watched her every day during my teenage years, she took care of my dad’s every need. No complaining, no whining, no asking why me Lord??? Not that I heard anyway. Moms are good like that. They don’t let the world see their worry or pain. She just went along every day doing what needed to be done. Having faith that it would all work out. She always said the Lord has a purpose for everything, and I believe she fully believed that, and that is how she made it through.
Were there days she cried and didn’t think she could go one more step? I am sure! There were days I am positive she didn’t know how the bills were going to get paid or what we were going to eat for dinner. But you know what?... The Lord always provided. Was it lavishly, no, but we never went without. She kept her faith that the Lord would provide for us, and he always did. I remember an afternoon some neighbors brought us a box of food. We had no idea how they knew we needed groceries, but we were forever thankful and grateful.
The Lord provides for us in a lot of ways. It may not be what we ask for, or when we ask for it, but he will always be right on time, with the thing HE knows we need, not what we think we need. Just keep your faith and find refuge under his wings. Know that no matter how bad today is, God already knows your needs and there are better days ahead
