Naomi had an incredibly hard life. After moving to a new country with her husband and children, to find work, tragedy struck. Her husband and both her sons soon became ill and died. She was left with depression, incredible pain, and the loyalty of her foreign daughter-in-law Ruth. She decided to return to her home country with only Ruth in tow. So distraught with what had happened to her, she told her family to change her name to Mara (translated “bitter”).
At her lowest point when it seems she should throw in the towel and die, she turns her focus away from herself toward her daughter-in-law. She helps and instructs Ruth in the customs of the country. Long story short, Ruth marries Boaz and becomes the great grandmother of one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history, David.
We all have gifts, blessings, opportunities, tragedies, illness, pain, and sorrow. Thank God, we also have a choice. Choose to focus outward both in times of blessing and in times of need.
Stewardship is not about the hand you are dealt, it’s how you play it.
And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 1:5 KJV