Welcome to my Wednesday feature
God is So Good. Here I will share stories - true and fiction, mine and others' - of the Lord's presence in the midst of trials, struggles, and difficulties.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33b
My "Christian fiction writing" officially began in the FaithWriters Writing Challenge. I posted my first piece close to six years ago, and entered nearly every week for two years, and continued to enter occasionally after that. Often, my stories were about God's presence in the midst of difficulties - and perhaps none so much as the biblical fiction I began writing a few months in, and that has become one of my passions. This piece (which I wrote almost exactly four years ago) is a favorite of mine, and I hope it blesses you, reminding you that God is ALWAYS there.
Crossroads
By Joanne Sher
"Oh, how I love you, dear Mahlon." She caught the lump in her throat
with a gulp, as tears misted from her brown eyes. "Whatever shall I
do?"
The stiff body before her did not answer. She continued staring as it was lowered into the ground.
The delicate hand of Orpah touched her shoulder. She reached up and gave it a squeeze.
"Now I understand, Orpah," Ruth whispered. "Now I understand."
The two widows held each other tightly, until matronly arms engulfed them both.
"Mother," the ladies said in unison.
"Ruth. Orpah." Naomi sighed. "What a month this has been."
Friends and family bowed their heads as the women left the burial site together.
**
"Nothing. Nothing left in this land." Naomi kicked the dirt beneath her feet. "Barely enough grain for a loaf of bread."
Ruth, grinding the wheat, shielded it from the dust particles. "We will make do, Mother. Your God will provide."
Naomi sighed. "Perhaps. He has provided dear daughters-in-law to this old woman."
"And to us, a wonderful mother," Orpah said, entering the home from the outside.
The three grinned.
**
"She has been so good to us. She has lost a husband and both sons. How
can we deprive her of daughters as well?" Ruth sat in the corner beside
Orpah, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We are a burden on her, Ruth," Orpah retorted. "Two more mouths to feed
and no man to help her with it. If we go back to our homes, we will be
provided for. We may even get new husbands. We are still young, you
know."
Ruth held back her tears. "But what about Naomi?"
Orpah smiled. "She is returning to her people. Perhaps they will take care of her, as our people take care of us."
"Perhaps." Ruth shuddered. "Or perhaps not. Who knows what will meet her
in Bethlehem? The least we can do is help her-go with her and aid her
in her new start. Would she do less for us? Think of how supportive, how
loving, she has been toward us--enemies of her people--for all these
years. What an amazing God she must have to treat us that way. Do you
really want to go back to our old way of life, our old gods?"
Orpah rested her chin on her hand and sighed. "I suppose you're right. She would certainly appreciate the help."
Ruth rose from the ground and grabbed a bulging satchel leaning against
the wall. "Then we need to make haste, so we can catch up with her
before it is too late."
**
Once the girls caught up with Naomi, the three strolled together in
silence. After a few minutes, they reached a divide in the road. Naomi
stopped and looked both Ruth and Orpah in the eye.
"Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness
to you, as you have shown to your dead and me. May the Lord grant that
each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.*" Naomi
embraced and kissed both of them, and they wept together.
Ruth looked up at her mother-in-law. "We will go back with you to your people.*"
Naomi dismissed the idea as nonsense.
Orpah leaned into Ruth and whispered, "She has a good point, and we
would be a burden." Backing away, Orpah kissed Naomi on the cheek.
Wiping away tears, she left Ruth and Naomi, trudging back toward Moab.
Ruth, however, clung to Naomi, swearing to follow her wherever she would go, and claiming Naomi's God as her own.
I will help her through this struggle. And, God willing, she will help me through mine.
**
Naomi put out her arms eagerly, receiving the wiggly, giggly bundle and
pulling him close to her heart. "Little Obed," Naomi cooed, "What a
wonderful family you have been born into."
Ruth and Boaz looked down at their child with glowing, love-filled eyes.
"Thank you, Mother, for loving me, for supporting me, and for
encouraging me in my grief to reach out to this wonderful man." Ruth's
eyes left her child's and rested on her husband, then her mother-in-law.
"You have helped me discover the beauty from my sorrow."
Naomi handed Obed back to Ruth. "It is you I should thank, sweet Ruth.
You have given me help and hope. And, perhaps best of all," Naomi ran
her hand through Obed's hair, "you have given me a son."
This story's empty spaces can be filled in by reading the Old Testament book of Ruth, Chapters 2-4.
References (from NIV):
Ruth 1:8-9, 10
From Genesis to Revelation, from the beginning of time to today, God is SO good!
Do you have a story you'd like to share about God's goodness in your struggles? Drop me an email and we can talk!
Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength
Finds for Fridays is my way of sharing some of the wonderful blogs posts I read each week. I am currently following close to 100 blogs and at least scan them as much as I can. Each week, I'll note and "set aside" some posts that especially speak to me for whatever reason. And each Friday that I am able, I'll share them with you. I hope you'll stop by and read the posts, and maybe even follow the blogs if you aren't already. A win-win, right? 
