Posts tagged “stories”

Ruth and Boaz – Part 2

Posted on 26/06/2012

– Written by Dee

As mentioned before, Boaz was a man worth waiting for… Especially for Ruth. To have experienced such a loss and to have traveled such a distance and finally meet a man like Boaz, was nothing short of a divine hand on Ruth’s life. Today, I want to focus on Ruth. In order for her to be prepared to receive someone like Boaz, she had to be at the right place at the right time.

We all make a list of attributes we want for our Boaz, but what about what we want for ourselves? Boaz was just a man living life without pretense, serving God and serving his people… until Ruth came along. He still served God and served his people but he took notice of one woman in his field, working diligently. See, the amazing fact about Ruth is that she didn’t even know who Boaz was until he approached her. She didn’t go to his field, searching for him. He found her.

I find it incredible that this woman had no clue what Boaz would come to mean for her and her mother-in-law, how he would change her life the way he did. She was too busy serving her new God and her mother-in-law. I believe as a new convert to the faith, she was overwhelmed with joy and peace to be in the same family as her mother-in-law, after desperately saying that she would go anywhere with Naomi, even if death was the end for her. Instead, she found a new life and the peace that comes from serving the Living God. She hit the ground running, finding work to provide for those important to her.

Naomi was her mother and she wanted to do all she could to make Naomi happy. She was by no means looking for a man or a distraction. In her selfless, undistracted way, Ruth fell upon a new opportunity. An open field full of them!

Was Boaz handsome and charming? Who knows if he was a mature tall man with broad shoulders and a resonating deep voice… or whether he was a kind, old man with gentle eyes that held onto the cords of her heart. It doesn’t even say that Ruth fell for Boaz immediately. In fact, Naomi probably planted the seeds of romance in Ruth’s heart, prodding her to go meet Boaz… It doesn’t mention that Ruth wanted to be married again after having lost her first husband.

What it does say is that Boaz knew her to be a woman of excellence (Ruth 3:11) and he took Ruth to be his wife (Ruth 4:13). Okay, so maybe it’s not the ideal romance where the man sweeps the woman off her feet and gives her a resounding kiss that leaves her breathless and her head spinning. Maybe Boaz didn’t exactly take several months to court her till she blushed pink or giggle like a little schoolgirl as he chased her across his fields. Sometimes I wonder why in some stories in the Bible, the romance is clear for Jacob and Rachel, Adam and Eve, Esther and King Xerxes, and on the other hand, Ruth and Boaz don’t get an overt romantic tale. Then I realize that it doesn’t really matter… Ruth found her happily-ever after with Boaz, in whatever capacity that was.

Some of us don’t necessarily believe in the happily-ever after, or maybe subconsciously we do but life makes it hard to trust it exists. In God’s divine plan, Ruth and Boaz begat Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of King David. In God’s plan, some of us might feel like there is no partner to beget anyone… maybe you’re right to think this way. Yet for those still holding on to your version of the Standard, how about first focusing on you serving God and man? Live selflessly, love unconditionally and live without pretense. Your Boaz might just be around the corner.

In whatever state you’re in, waiting or living, do it all for God. In fact, suspend your list and focus your attention on Him. He’s faithful to give you the desires he’s planted in you to have.

Let me know what you think? Share your thoughts.

<<Part 1 || Prose>>

Categories: Prose

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Ruth and Boaz – Part 1

Posted on 26/06/2012

 

– Written by Dee

At the naïve age of 18, I sat down to make a list that I named “The Standard.” Sounds pretentious now and somewhat audacious but this list described my ideal man. Having just arrived on campus for my first year of college, I already had a good idea of who I wanted to fall in love with and marry eventually.

When I skim through the long list of my standard, I find myself smiling at how relevant some of those attributes for my future husband are still to me. Tall, dark and handsome were only a few traits I scripted and highlighted on paper. His character was first on my list. I wanted a shy, quirky guy that stood for what he believed in and was as stubborn as I could be sometimes. He would love children, could play a mean guitar and had an interesting laugh that always made me smile, even when we were fighting… Now at the age of 26, I still hold on to some of those traits.

What’s on your list for the perfect man? Is he tall with strong legs and broad shoulders, does he have a lilting tenor voice or a resonating bass? Is he dark with smooth shiny skin or light as caramel? Is his hair curly and brilliant with sheen or maybe he has no hair at all? Are you into the shy and sensitive, or brash and honest? Do you prefer a man that is the oldest son or the youngest child? Do you want a man that loves children and family or could you care less?

Mull over this for a second.  Is he protective, well-spoken, thoughtful of your feelings, and worthy of your love? Let’s face it. We are searching and waiting for a modern-day great man to come into our lives by God’s divine plan and no help from coincidental circumstances. We all want men that waste little to no time courting us intentionally, ones who are rarely afraid to protect and love.

While recently thinking on the book of Ruth, there was a man named Boaz in Ruth 2 who was aptly described as an influential man who also believed in the Lord. How about that for the perfect wish list on an E-harmony application? “I want a man that is influential and believes in the Lord.” I’ll be honest. Whenever I thought of the word influential, I picture a bald short man in a three-piece suit throwing money at people with a wide, flashy grin on his face.

Yet the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary appropriately describes an influential individual as one who exerts or possesses the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command. It’s a mouthful but it means Boaz was a man that did not need to force his authority or command it. His peers acknowledged his influence, his authority… probably because of his character, which you can read about in the Book of Ruth. His thoughtfulness toward his workers, his social skills when it boiled down to fellowshipping with the community, to his selflessness with those around him. To those who watched him, he was a good, worthy and admirable man who deserved their respect and admiration. One cannot self-adopt that title of being influential and honorable; it has to be earned by approval of their peers. Peers who saw and worked and lived near that person, living life without pretense. Essentially, Boaz was indisputably a worthy and honorable man.

In many ways, Ruth’s Boaz fits our description for the perfect man in the sense that he was not only honorable in character but protective, observant, compassionate and selfless in deed. Before Ruth even came along, his character traits were consistent and no one but Naomi and Ruth made note of such a great man. It doesn’t mean that the community wasn’t aware of his great personality but that they were used to him. He didn’t change just because a beautiful lady suddenly showed up at his workplace. Think about it. Be observant. Watch his peers. Are his friends as surprised as you are about him?

Sure, it’s good that you’re a positive influence on him but if he’s changing solely because he’s trying to “catch” you, something doesn’t sit well. What if he’s done fishing and you’ve caught the bait, will his true character return or is his change genuine? It’s a gamble and it’s up to you whether or not to take that chance. Of course, this doesn’t mean that your presence cannot affect the way he sees or reacts to life, or that his habits change. But if EVERYTHING about him is different a few days before you met, it’s either Jesus himself appeared before him and he was transformed, or… well, I’ll leave the conclusion to you.

Right now, I’m still traveling on this journey with you. Finding Boaz isn’t easy but with God’s help, it’ll be worth it, right?

<<Prose || Part 2>>

Categories: Prose

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