So Naomi and Ruth set off for the Promised Land. They were well aware of the fact that hard times lay ahead of them. As a result of everything Naomi had experienced, she became embittered and gave herself the name “Mara,” which comes from the Hebrew “מר” meaning “bitter.”
Ruth, on the other hand, did not surrender to her circumstances and shows us how even in the difficult times one can view the glass as half full. She could have easily succumbed to her circumstances and said, “I have no husband, I have no home, I have nothing to eat, I’m poor!”
Had she said all that, we could have easily agreed and sympathized with her. She was a poor widow who had left her family and homeland behind and who was reduced to gleaning a few grains of leftover wheat or barley from harvested fields. Yet, Ruth was satisfied with what she had, and even felt a calling on her life.
There are certain basic functions of human life that can be encouraging even to the poor. Ruth took...
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