The promise of a decision.


Day 11

Ruth 1:22

So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

The last verse of chapter one reads like the end of a romantic movie. I can see it now. The camera pulls away as the two women walk through the frantic city, arm in arm. Fear is in their eyes. Then it cuts slowly to an open barley field, with the soft wind caressing the top of the plants, making them dance to its uneven rhythm. The workers seem smaller and smaller as the camera pans out; the entire scene gradually blurs until it eventually blacks out and the credits begin to roll. We could end the story there. There was certainly plenty to ponder on so far.

Decisions are important. They can turn our lives upside down. They can open a world of opportunities or shut down all possibilities. We can change the outcome of our earthly life forever. They can also determine our eternal destiny.

Have you ever felt like you’ve made it, that you have reached your goal? Have you felt the sense of fulfillment that it brings? The sense of peace? The pride? For me, it was high school graduation. Coming from a humble background, where both parents barely reached the fifth grade and college was for “rich” kids, to be the first to graduate from high school was the biggest accomplishment. It meant the ability to get a decent job, other than a maid and construction laborer. To my parents and me, that was like arriving in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

However, this was definitely not the end for these two fearful but determined women. A new chapter was about to unfold in their life, there were more decisions to be made. There was a lot of work still to be done. You see, life doesn’t end when the credits roll. The happily ever after is only an illusion. The sequel was already in production, and the next movie should be released soon.

It was no coincidence that they arrived just in time for the harvest, like a premonition of what lay ahead. The Lord had visited His people and given them food.  The harvest was plentiful, but now it needed to be collected.

We all make decisions in our lives. Sometimes based on emotions, sometimes based on circumstances. Sometimes based on reflection and the Word of God. Those decisions have an outcome that we may or may not like, and they set in motion a whole other set of events. In any case, as fearful as it can be, we must continue forward, for it’s time to get to work, to look away from that which kept us bound and be set free. #getittogethergirl. Leave the past behind and look to the future.

Dear God, I have made many decisions in my life that have brought me where I am today. Whether or not they were always the right ones, I don’t know. But you can take them and make them into something good. Please, don’t let me look back. My past is gone, and this is the beginning of the harvest. Help me keep my eyes on you and the blessings you have for my life.

My reflections:

“On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife.”

Luke17:31-32


PART I

SUMMARY

Congratulations! You have finished the first part. I suggest you stop today. Go back. Take some time to reflect on your life and the decisions you may have made recently. Evaluate where you are in your walk with Jesus. What are your current circumstances? Can you change them? Is there a decision you can make now to overcome them? What can you do to “get yourself together”? Think. Pray. Decide. Then, draw your decision on this page. If you don’t think you have the artistic gene, write it (although I can assure you there isn’t a woman on the planet who has not drawn stick figures while bored to death in her sixth-grade history class). Then, go on to Part II and get to work.

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