The Heart of Rue - A Modern-Day Story of the Book of Ruth

Epilogue

Epilogue

So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son. ~Ruth 4:13

An Infinitely Blessing

One year later.

Our baby is a beautiful, healthy little boy, and I am certain he will grow tall and strong and look just like his father.

My labor had been long, but not hard according to Nala. She and the midwife said I had been a trooper and made the home water birth seem easy. I will have to take their word for it. All I know is that Bo–and God–stayed by my side, and I heard the calming assuring voice of God through the soothing voice of my husband. I felt my Heavenly Father's presence stronger than ever before. And the Savior's assurance that He would never leave me made it all complete.

Now, wrapped in Bo's warm embrace, we joyfully watch Nala as she holds and coos to her grandson–Ellis Atherton Greyeagle. Nala's family name will be carried on through our son. God had heard the yearning of her heart, and mine, and He gifted us both with the continuance of a righteous posterity. As long as we do our part to raise him–and our future children–in righteousness, it will be so. God promised this in the blessing given to Little Ellis by Bo this morning in sacrament meeting. God had promised that through Ellis would come a righteous posterity, and as long as he never strays, our son will be one of the Lord's chosen and have a great work to do.

Bo and I vow to do everything we can to make sure those blessings come to pass. And I know that as long as we keep our hands in the Lord's, they will. The evidence of this surety is the life my Father has given me.

God is everywhere I turn, and in Him, I am most blessed.

Afterword

Some Personal Thoughts About the Book of Ruth

Even though I knew bits and pieces of Ruth's story, it wasn't until this past year or so that I truly came to learn of her, and love her.

Facts we know about Ruth:

First: She was a Moabite who married one of the sons of Naomi and Elimelech, an older Israelite couple who moved their family to Moab because of a famine in their own country.

Second: Within ten years, Elimelech, as well as both of Naomi's sons, Mahlon (Ruth's Husband,) and Chilion (Orpah's husband,) were dead.

Third: When Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, Ruth vowed to go with her.

Fourth: To feed herself and Naomi, Ruth gleaned the barley fields of Naomi's kinsman, Boaz.

Fifth: Ruth's kindness won her the heart of righteous Boaz, he married her and raised up seed in her deceased husband's name according to Levirate law–to help preserve the family name (a redeemer.) And through Ruth came King David, through whose lineage came Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.

Ruth is the perfect example of the power of faith, hope, trust, and devotion. Because of her love for her mother-in-law, Naomi, and trust in a God that was once foreign to her, she was infinitely blessed beyond all possible measure through God's mercy and grace. The meaning of the name Ruth is friend/companion, which is a perfectly fitting description of this righteous, godly woman.

It is obvious that Ruth had a great deal of respect for Naomi, as well as a deep love, as evidenced by Ruth heeding Naomi's counsel that she go to the threshing floor where Boaz slept, uncover his feet, and then lay down. (Ruth 3:4) It was a righteous petition for his care, and just as righteously, Boaz blessed her for it because he knew she was a virtuous woman. (Ruth 3:9)

Ruth's action was one that many of today's worldly women have been taught to frown upon, because it displays dependence upon a man. The world teaches that men are not needed, and that a woman's strength is in her independence, that she can handle anything on her own; she can replace a man in the workplace, and if she wants children, she does not need a husband to have them–in fact, she can have them and be both mother and father to them. Sadly, many of today's worldly women would consider Ruth's act of righteous petition a weakness.

This thinking could not be more wrong. If anything, Ruth's act demonstrated a humility beyond words. Hers was a heart full of faith in God, obedience to Him, and boundless compassion and concern for the welfare of her mother-in-law, as well as a strong discernment that spoke to her spirit of Boaz's goodness and holiness.

To possess a heart like Ruth's would truly give others around the bearer a glimpse into the heart of Christ. Therefore, it is fitting that it is through her lineage that the Savior came.

There is so much more to Ruth's story, and so much more that we can learn from it. The thoughts I have shared are only a glimpse of her life. I'll leave it to you, the reader, to read the Book of Ruth that you might savor in full, a life that was truly blessed by the Most-High.