Through Thick and Thin

What would you say is your problem-solving style:

• Decide and act!
• Seek more information.
• Pause for reflection.
• I’d like to phone-a-friend.

Can you recall a time when you felt very alone? How did that eventually change?

There is an interesting account in the Bible about problem-solving and addressing feelings of being alone. The story begins with a man who, because of a famine in his area, along with his wife and two sons, moved to another country. Shortly after, the man died. The two sons married women from their new locale, but later, the two sons also died. The initial women, Noami, is now a widow, and so are the two local brides, Orpah and Ruth.

Noami decided to return to her home country because she had relatives there and the famine had ended. She encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their hometowns where God might bless them with new husbands. Both said they would not leave Noami but eventually Orpah did. Ruth, however, was adamant that she would relocate with Noami saying, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. Without spoiling the end of the story, let’s just day God worked it all out in a wonderful way. You can read the whole story in the Bible book of Ruth. It’s a great read!

What do you think were some of the challenges Orpah, Ruth and Naomi faced? It would probably be easier for Ruth and Orpah to return to their homes than it would be for Naomi. That was nice of Noami to tell her daughter’s-in-law to return to their families of origin, but how would you feel if you were Naomi, all alone in a foreign land?

Think about how these three women responded to their dilemma by using the options for problem-solving listed at the top of this post. Instead of focusing on the negatives of the situation, what are some of the strengths and opportunities each woman might have available? What is better because Naomi and Ruth stayed together?

Switching gears now a bit, how about you? Are there groups of people in which you feel like a stranger? In what ways do you have the capacity to make positive change? How would working with others be helpful in your relationships?

4832 Ponderings:

• How does the concept and promise of God’s faithfulness impact challenging times for you?
• Hawaiians have a wonderful word in their vocabulary, Ohana, which means “family”. But the word means so much more than our traditional understanding of family. It includes extended relationship with neighbors, friends, and co-workers, bound together to cooperate and honor each other. Who is your Ohana? Who are the people you encounter that you could greet and treat like family?

Closing Prayer: 
Dear heavenly Father, Jesus prayed to You and asked that we may be one as You are with Him. That is our prayer, too; that we may live as one, protected and inter-connected through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, we are blessed to live in this world and the community you have created. At the same time, we look forward to a future time when we are eternally and perfectly connected to You and to one another. May we be a ray of light into the lives of all we meet as we live in the truth of Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.    
Adapted from John 17:11-18