My husband and I just got home from visiting our grandkids in California. They grow up soooo fast! What precious babies they are! One night, as I was putting my granddaughter to bed, she said, "Grandma, tell me a bedtime story from the scriptures. But before you do, I have a question: Do you still sing on stage? I said yes, but I’m not doing that right now. She said, "Why?" and I replied, "Well, my sweet baby girl, if I were on stage right now, I couldn’t tuck you into bed and tell you a story, could I?” She gave me a great big hug and said, "Oh, Grandma, I love you so much." OK, seriously… my heart!!!!
I love telling these beautiful children stories I loved from the Bible. It helps them see that they can learn lessons about good and bad, and how their choices can affect their lives. It teaches them to see themselves, their family, and their friends in the stories.
I have had the best time studying the Old Testament this year. Each time I re-read a new story, I think… this so relates to me! Then I read the next situation or story… this is my life! So helping my grandchildren see that all scripture can teach them great life lessons is a gift I want to give them, just like my parents and grandparents taught me. When I was young, that’s what we heard when we would go to sleep at night—these great Bible stories. I loved the story of Ruth and Naomi, and of course, Hannah. Her faith touched me so deeply. These great women taught me how important it was to be loyal to family, and that through hard times, we always needed to stick together.
Of course, I kept these stories on a level my granddaughter could understand. But that week before i went to California, I was speaking to a friend of mine (my age) who told me how much she loved the story of Ruth and Naomi, and also Hannah (like I said we’re studying at in church)☺️ She shared with me that when she was leading a group of women at church, how she would often visit each one at their homes to check up on them, and many of these women would say, “I never thought my life would turn out this way.” Some had harder lives than others, but the common denominator was that each life experience was unexpected. Some would say I did everything I was supposed to do, but why didn’t my children follow the Lord, or why did my husband leave me? Why is my child so ill? Why would someone so close to me take advantage of me financially? And she said the list would go on and on with every heartfelt question you could imagine. That IS the story of Naomi and Ruth. Naomi lost her husband and both sons; she was in a land that was not her own, and the people worshipped a God she didn’t understand. I cannot imagine her despair. I know she had to wonder, “Why?” How could she not?
Hannah prayed for years to have a child, and when she did, she kept her promise and gave him over to the Lord. ‘
Why?
I know it’s ok to mourn the loss of an expectation. To grieve what we thought would occur. But in my experience, there just isn’t always a straight line with the Lord. So we switchblade through life, going from one impossible situation to another, each time rescued by the grace of our Lord.
That is His plan!
Earth life is for us to depend on our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, which basically means exactly what you fear. Life will be filled with unexpected situations. Events we cannot foresee, Naomi couldn’t control the famine or the loss of her husband and sons. But she could control how she reacted and whom she could depend on. Ruth completely gave all of herself to the Lord and followed Naomi and the God she learned loved her. Ruth's response to Naomi, who tried to persuade her to return to her people, is one of the most frequently quoted verses in the Bible. “For whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge thy people shall be my people and they God my God.”
Doing life the Lord's way will never be easy. As a very wise man once said, “If you are having a bad day, you are in very good company.” I know he was being funny, but isn't it true?
The Lord gave us a Savior because He knew we would make mistakes, we would fall, and need the Savior to help us get back up and try again. When Ruth and Naomi went back to Bethlehem, it still wasn’t easy. The Lord's covenant people wouldn’t accept Ruth. But then Boaz, the Christ figure in this story, not only accepted her but also married her. And look what came through that line….the Savior of the world! And in this situation, this beautiful daughter of God was a convert; the Savior’s bloodline includes all of us!! I can only tell all of you what I said to my granddaughter, but in much simpler terms.😉 That we have no idea what the future brings, except for one thing…You will always have the Lord. He loves you and will never leave you.
That is His plan!!!