To date, we have looked at the life of a woman in the Bible named Ruth and how it compares to the lives God has called us to as military spouses.  Sometimes, it may feel as if we are living in a battle zone, some of the same feelings Ruth may have experienced after her husband died.  As we read in part 2 of our series, Ruth had decided to go with her also widowed mother-in-law Naomi to the family homeland of Israel.

As we pick up Ruth’s story in Ruth, chapter 2, our friend finds herself living in a land very different from her own amongst a people with a different culture, including a different God.  Can you relate?  To solve the immediate problem she and Naomi faced of needing a way to eat, Ruth asks if she can go into the fields and collect leftover grain after the workers have completed their harvest.  Ruth found herself gleaning in the fields of Boaz, a man who was a relative of Naomi’s.  When Boaz saw Ruth’s determination to care for Naomi and work hard in the fields, he encouraged her to only gather from his fields where he promised she would be protected.  He invited her to lunch and instructed his workers to leave behind extra barley for Ruth.

When Ruth told Naomi what had happened, Naomi was thrilled, pointing out to Ruth that Boaz was one of the family’s kinsman redeemers.   A kinsman redeemer was basically a relative who was able to pay a debt that someone was unable to pay themselves.  This could include responsibilities such as paying for land that had belonged to a family member or marrying a family member’s widow in order to provide for them.  (For more info, see Leviticus 25:47-55).  Later on, Naomi suggested that it was time for her to find Ruth a husband and by the way, wouldn’t Boaz be a perfect match?  Naomi gave Ruth instructions on going to the threshing floor and presenting herself to Boaz, and Ruth agreed to the plan.

Bible commentators have dramatically different views on the motives of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz along with what actually happened that night at the threshing floor.  What we can know from the Bible is that Ruth followed Naomi’s instructions and Boaz told her he was willing to be her kinsman redeemer, which basically was a proposal of marriage.

Ruth’s life had seen some pretty dramatic curve balls, much as becoming military spouses can quickly change our games.  What I love about Ruth is that when her circumstances changed, she learned to serve in her current position.  Though Ruth’s life situation had changed dramatically in status, location, etc., adapting to the new situation God had placed her in brought stability not only to her, but to her family.

What a valuable lesson for us as military spouses.  Do you find yourself today in a place far from where you ever wanted to be or imagined you would be?  If that is your story, you still have choices to make, though it may feel sometimes like you are powerless. What if today we chose to be the one in our family that brought stability by dealing with our own discontent? (in my life, I call it the Burger King/Sinatra syndrome – I always want to have it my way!)  Whether that discontent is about deployment, orders, PCS moves or other life occurrences, how about if we chose today to admit our battle zones to our Father and began to adapt to our current circumstances?

And what might our families learn and how might they benefit as we choose to leave our discontent at the throne of our Father and find our purpose in His plan for our lives?  It is not an easy challenge, but Ruth gives us a great example of what can happen when we choose to trust God.  May our husbands be able to say about us what Boaz said about Ruth:

“May the Lord repay you for what you have done.  May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel,

under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Ruth 2:12 (NIV)

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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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