I’m With You…

I’ve always been a little traumatized by the story of Ruth and Naomi.  Naomi’s two sons marry, and then die.  Naomi tells her daughters-in-law that she is going back to Bethlehem, and that they should return to their families or remarry.  One does, but the other, Ruth, will not.  In what must be one of the most beautiful verses in scripture she says,

Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.   Ruth 1:16

I can’t remember what I thought of this story before I was married, but I know exactly what I thought about it after.  “She leaves her family and goes off with her mother-in-law???” would have been my exact thought.  My mother-in-law is a good woman.  She raised my husband, and I will be forever grateful to her for that.  Her children are, without a doubt, the nicest and hardest working people I know.  But she and I are not exactly…kindred spirits…  The thought of losing my husband and then leaving my family to follow her to another country has always seemed ridiculous.

 

Earlier this week I was in the car and had the Christian radio station on.  I’ve heard an advertisement several times now for a new collection of songs based on stories from the Old Testament.  Wouldn’t you know, the commercial plays a sample from the song about Ruth and Naomi.

The next day I was in the car again and the song was playing.  The chorus is catchy and played in my mind every now and then yesterday while I was emptying and sanding the cabinets.

You and me,
Me and you,
Where you go I'll go too,
I'm with you,
I'm with you.

 

I woke much too early this morning. After laying in bed for 45 minutes it was clear that there was too much on my mind for me to be able to go back to sleep.  I had already been worried about today—I’d like to be able to spray the cabinets tomorrow, but I have several things going on today and so I won’t be able to spend as much time as I’d like prepping, priming, and sanding.  I finally decided that I might as well get out of bed and get some work done, rather than continue to lay there and be frustrated. (The shock on Josh’s face when he got up at 5AM and found me downstairs working was pretty excellent too!)

As I was covering surfaces and putting down painters tape the lines of the song came into my mind again.  Once again I rehearsed my objections to the story—why on earth would she be willing to leave her family and follow her mother-in-law to a strange place?  This was especially puzzling to me today, not knowing when and especially where Russ is going to be able to find a new job.  The thought of needing to sell my house saddens me deeply, but the idea of leaving Durham is gut wrenching a deeper level.  It is one thing to say that I trust God’s plan, but I am finding that actually living that trust is a whole different matter.  How then could Ruth just leave everything she had known, both her family and her place, to follow Naomi?

 

And then it hit me.  Ruth wasn’t just following Naomi.  It never was just about a relationship with her mother-in-law.  Ruth was following God.  She must have known that she was following His plan for her, and that was enough reason for her to leave family and home.

 

I already know that Russ & I will follow God’s plan for us as we come to understand what it is.  That is who we are, as individuals, as a couple, and as a family.  My hope is that I can follow His plan with the same kind of dignity Ruth had. And in the end I won’t be singing to Naomi, but to Him.

You and me,
Me and you,
Where you go [send me] I'll go too,
I'm with you,
I'm with you.