Sometimes life can be messy, so let's have a cup of coffee and talk about...

Countless are the stories and novels written about how love triumphs over all difficulties. In real life, though, I can’t think of a more significant story of love and forgiveness than that of Corrie Ten Boom and her meeting in a church in Holland with a German soldier from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she and her sister, Betsy had been held prisoners during World War II, that terrible place where Betsy died at the hands of German guards. This man was one of them. After talking in that church (precisely about forgiveness), that man approached her, and though he did not recognize her, he extended his arm and asked for forgiveness for his past actions. He had converted after the war and was seeking forgiveness for what he had done. But she did recognize him. She tells in her book. The Hiding Place , that when she saw the man’s hand, the memories of the cruelties she had endured in the concentration camp kept her own hand hidden, clutching her purse. “Lord, I can do this. I c...

  Day 39 Ruth 4:15 “Your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Ruth 4:15 A reward that blesses others. God does not do anything capriciously. He sees the entire picture while focusing individually on each person. His blessings are a domino effect. A man smiles gently at the ticket counter agent at the airport, whom he does not know has had a bad day. She in turn feels appreciated and gives the next  passenger a ticket for an earlier flight, which he so desperately needs that day. That passenger now has tine to buy his daughter a doll. His daughter receives it gladly and takes it to school to show her friends. All play happily and go home smiling…You get it? The rewards and benefits that God gives us are not for us to keep hidden. Ruth received her reward when Boaz bought the properties that belonged to Naomi and decided to marry her, thus redeeming the house of Elimelech. But the reward was not hers alone. ...

  Day 38 Ruth 4:13 “And the  Lord  gave her conception, and she bore a son.” A reward that produces fruit. Not long ago, I read about grape growing for wine production. Each year, during the fall, the viticulturist prunes the plants severely (just as I do my roses in February), and they look dry and thirsty all throughout the winter. When spring comes, the water in the soil begins to come up through the main stem until the first drop of sap comes out right from the same spot where it was cut. Summer brings flowers, and then the fruits that eventually will produce the wine. The promise of the coming fruit keeps the branches alive. Nothing brings more happiness to a parent than the birth of a child, especially the firstborn. Holding your child in your arms is the climax of an entire life of dreams and hope. All of a sudden, life, no matter how hard it has been, takes on a different form. Somehow, colors seem brighter, sounds are sweeter and softer. Smells…well, th...

Day 37 Ruth 4:13 “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her.” The reward of having God inside of us. Perhaps this is one of the most significant verses of the entire book; it is the climax of the story. Everything we have read so far leads to this. Boaz, the savior, the redeemer, takes the Moabite, the foreigner, and not only brings her into his home, but goes into her, and she conceives. What a beautiful archetype of the Christian journey! Our Savior, our Redeemer, having conquered all the obstacles that stood between us, now takes us into His home, we become His bride, and He comes into us. He knows us in the most intimate manner known to man. Then He allows us to conceive and bear fruit for His glory. You were Ruth. I was Ruth. We are all foreigners in God’s land. We had nothing to offer on our own. But He had compassion. He did not take into consideration our baggage, our past, and everything we dragged along. He saw our beauty and took us in. The...

Day 36 Ruth 4:15 “He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Rewards that bring provision. Years ago, we had a precarious financial situation at home. The country’s economy, along with other factors outside our control, all contributed to the fall of our small business. We had worked hard for that business and put a lot of sweat into it since we got married. Now, we had two small children, had recently purchased a home, and all of a sudden, we had no salary, no source of income, and we didn’t know where the money would come from to pay the mortgage. Our car had been repossessed, and I remember as if it were yesterday, how my husband gave our employee the last $800 in our savings account, for his salary, as required by law. That day, in that small office that we now had to evacuate, I thought the world was falling on me. All of a sudden, the phon...