​Have you ever had to go to a new place, whether a new school or job or even a new town? Do you remember the feelings that you had? If you don’t like change, it can truly be overwhelming. If you do like change, like my dad, it is just a new adventure with new and exciting things to see and do. When I was 18, I left my family’s house in Orlando, Florida and moved to a small town several hundred in the middle of Alaska. I knew that God was wanting me to move there, but it was scary nonetheless. Talk about culture shock! But as I got settled in, God brought many loving people in my path, including my soon-to-be wife. They accepted me and took care of me. After my difficult childhood, they really had a part in redeeming what seemed unredeemable.
 
I think that Ruth probably had similar thoughts. She had just left the land that she had grown up in. Sure, it was a land filled with false-god worshippers and people that did not want to help the Israelites, but she called it home. Now, she is living in a new land with her mother-in-law who seems beyond depressed and wants to be called by the name “Bitter.” To top that, she has to go scavenge for food for them. Ruth is just really amazing, though, she dedicated her life to Naomi and to Naomi’s God and served faithfully in her role as helper. Even though she was a foreigner, God did not abandon her and brings along a faithful and honorable man named Boaz. He just “happens” to be a guardian-redeemer.
 
Throughout chapter 9, we see God’s Upper Story at work. In the Lower Story, it seemed like only bitterness could reign. How could go redeem something so lost? But He has a plan, just like He always does. He is going to redeem the things that we think are unredeemable and He uses a willing heart that is bent to follow Him fully.

Wow! What a love story. What was so special about Naomi that Ruth would follow her to a foreign land and worship a foreign God knowing how hard life could be for her as a widow? Naomi was in no shape to care for Ruth, and she was down in the dumps as well. But God certainly had another plan. He would provide a kinsman-redeemer who would change Ruth's life, and Ruth would end up in the royal line of King David and King Jesus.

​May God bless you as your family learns about Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. Your parent page for chapter 9 is attached.
Mr. Chuck