Last week, we looked at how becoming military wives can sometimes make us feel like formerly competent, capable women whose lives have been turned upside down as we now walk through our own challenging battle zones.  We are going to look at the life of a woman in the Bible named Ruth, who had some battles in her own life similar to the ones we frequently face as military wives.  As we see Ruth rise to meet her challenges, may we find strength to meet our own everyday battles with purpose.

In Ruth chapter 1 (you can find this book in the Old Testament of the Bible between the books of Judges and I Samuel), we are introduced to a Jewish family. This family, comprised of a woman named Naomi, along with her husband and two sons, had moved to the land of Moab due to a famine in Israel.  The sons married local women Orpah (yes, you read right – Orpah, not the other lady who gives away trips to Australia) and Ruth.  The Israelites had been commanded not to allow their sons to intermarry with the daughters of other nations, as the nations surrounding the land of Israel worshipped idols.  God warned them these intermarriages could lead their hearts astray from Him.  Naomi’s husband died, followed by the deaths of both of her sons.  Naomi, Orpah and Ruth were left as widows, a condition which in Bible times could mean death as women alone had no way to earn a living to provide for themselves.   Naomi decided their best course of action was to return to her homeland of Israel.

Naomi began down the road with her daughters-in-law, only to tell them to turn back and go home to their own families.  After much discussion and many tears, Orpah turns around for home, but our friend Ruth had a different response.

But Ruth replied,

Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you.  Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Your people will be my people and your God my God.

Ruth 1: 16 (NIV)

So Ruth and Naomi returned together to Naomi’s home of Bethlehem arriving at the time of the barley harvest.  Naomi told the women of the town to no longer her call Naomi, which means “pleasant,” but to instead, call her Mara, which means “bitter.”  Yes, Ruth apparently had the mother-in-law which keeps stand up comedians in business.

So, what can we learn from Ruth’s choices?  Ruth’s life circumstances had changed pretty dramatically.  She found herself moving from the status of wife to widow and was then faced with the decision of whether to leave her home and culture in order to care for her mother-in-law, a self-described bitter woman.  Recognizing these changes enabled her to do what she needed to do and move forward, much like recognizing our unique circumstances as military wives can help us move forward with what God has called us to do.  Ruth did not seem to look around to see what everyone else was doing before she made her choices.  She recognized her situation for what it was and made a choice to care for her mother-in-law and make the God of Israel her God.

How often in the battles of our own lives as military wives are we tempted to waste too much time and energy acting like the life we live is not one of unique challenges?  Yes, drowning in sorrow is not a particularly helpful tactic either, but we need to realize that our lifestyles of living without our spouses at home for lengthy periods of time, having them in combat zones and moving frequently are factors impacting every facet of our lives.  Simply recognizing the additional challenges that may come along as a result of our unique lifestyles can allow us to make decisions based in reality.  We can choose to acknowledge the struggles we face and align ourselves with the only true, unchangeable source of strength – the same God Ruth chose.  What battle zone can you recognize today?  How can you, like Ruth, allow God to be your source of strength and give you a sense of purpose as you live life in the battle zone?

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Bettina has been a military wife for over 29 years. She and her husband Rob have two sons and a daughter-in-law pursuing artistic careers in Los Angeles and a high school daughter at home with them outside Washington, D.C. She blogs at Simple Stories, Timeless Truths.

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