I am not talking about the blatant messages, more the subtle undertones. We are all sensitive to certain things. Our values and priorities are shaped by our life and experiences. As parents there are just those things that are important to us that we hope our children really get. It might be kindness, honesty, being faithful in the little things, boldness, or compassion. The list could go on indefinitely.
Where am I going with this? I am glad you asked! The story of Ruth. I know, it seems like a random leap, but stick with me and it will hopefully make sense by the end.
Ruth is one of my all time favorite parts of the Bible. It is such a beautiful story of loss, faithfulness, devotion, provision, redemption, and God's incredible story woven through all of it. So short version here...Naomi, her husband, and their two sons leave Judah due to a famine. They settle in Moab, and then her husband dies. Her sons get married, they live there for about 10 years and then tragedy strikes again, both of her sons die and she is alone in this foreign land. She hears that the famine is over and decides to return to her homeland so she tells her daughter-in-laws to go back to their families. Orpah follows her instruction, but Ruth refuses. She clings to her and vows her life to Naomi and to Naomi's God. I am guessing Ruth may have been a little stubborn because Naomi knew better than to try any further convincing and they journey back to Bethlehem together. Here we have two widows. Life has not been easy, they have faced struggle, disappointment and heartbreak. Naomi even goes so far as to change her name to represent her current state in life. Mara, which means bitter. She says that she left full, but she has come back empty. How many times in life have you felt empty? No strength, no willpower, no hope, no optimism, nothing to offer anyone. Empty. And you don't want to smile and say everything is fine. You want to yell in despair, "Can't you see?! I. Have. Nothing. Left." Thankfully with God that is never the end of the story.
Ruth goes out to work in the fields. It is harvest time and she follows along behind the workers gathering up anything that might have been missed. She is a foreigner. She has no one to watch over her or protect her. She is vulnerable. Enter Boaz. He sees her, asks his workers who she is. Learns how faithful she has been to Naomi and not only tells her to stay in his fields, but tells his men to keep her safe and make sure to leave extra behind for her. He gives protection, provision and overwhelming compassion to a woman he could have overlooked as an outsider. As soon as Naomi hears about this she jumps at the chance to play matchmaker and comes up with a plan. It basically boiled down to this: sneak into the place where Boaz and his workers were sleeping and curl up by Boaz's feet, wait for him to wake up and realize she was there and then do what he says. To Ruth's credit she follows the plan. I think I might have balked just a little. Can you imagine??? It's not like they had nightlights, what if she tripped over someone and woke everyone up? Or what if she laid down at the wrong person's feet? That could get awkward pretty fast. She was basically asking him to marry her. Talk about putting yourself out there! Thankfully God was writing the story so none of my what if's are relevant. I am simplifying a bit, but she finds the right guy, he accepts her proposal, they end up getting married and Ruth finds herself right in the middle of the lineage of Christ! Seriously?!?! It blows me away every time! This woman, a foreigner, widowed, vulnerable, trusted in a God she wasn't raised to know and He changed her story.
So yay, that's awesome, right?! But what does it have to do with teaching our children? Here is what gets me so excited. God weaves lives together to bring about His purposes and He sets things in motion sometimes years in advance which is easy for Him since He sees the big picture. Y'all probably already know this but I realized it about 10ish years ago and it blew me away. Do you know who Boaz's mother was? Rahab. As in the harlot who hid the spies in Jericho. Who was saved when the walls came down because she believed in the truth of a God she wasn't raised to know. A foreigner, with a shady past. Vulnerable. Sound familiar? Now this is just my speculation here, but I can't help but think that being raised by a father who extended compassion and protection to someone he could have overlooked because of her race and her past and by a mother who had such an intimate knowledge of how God can bring together all the pieces that should never fit and make something beautiful, shaped Boaz as he grew to become the man that God could use in this story.
Our stories are important because they are connected to God's story, and when we give our stories to Him He makes something wonderful. He has put our children with us. Those unique family pairings have the ability to bring Him glory. Our children need us. They need us to show them our stories and most importantly to show them God's story that is woven in the strands of ours. They need to see His fingerprints all over our lives, so they will recognize them all over their lives. So just in case you are wondering today...Never doubt your influence. You are not lacking. You are exactly what your children need. God has given you everything you need for life and that includes parenting.
Keep Dreaming!
