Tonight is my last class studying the Book of Ruth. When I began the class a few months ago, I wondered how a short four-chapter book could capture my attention for a semester. Now I realize I could easily spend another semester immersing myself in this little gem. If you're not familiar with the story, Ruth was a Moabite (from a country east of Israel and there were, historically, unfriendly relations between the two countries). A woman named Naomi, her husband, and her two sons move to Moab and settle there due to a famine in Israel, and the sons marry Moabite women (one of whom was Ruth). Things take a turn for the worse when Naomi's husband and two sons die. Naomi decides to return to Israel, and her daughters-in-law commit to going with her. She tries to talk them out of it and succeeds with one ... but not with Ruth. Ruth makes an impassioned speech (Your God will be my God, your people will be my people) and goes with Naomi to her hometown of Bethlehem. The future for these two women is bleak, until Ruth - with Naomi's help - meets a wealthy man named Boaz ... and they live happily ever after. 

There is more to the story and if you want to know more, I encourage you to read the book for yourself. It won't take long! I was pondering, though, about Naomi's point of view in this story. Ruth is credited with being the loyal friend who leaves her family and friends behind to go with her mother-in-law and support her, and she was that. But Naomi tried hard to talk her out of it to the point of almost being rude. Naomi knew she was returning to a home she had left behind and, worse yet, that they had gone to a land her people considered enemies. She knew that when people found out her husband and sons had died, they would assume God had a hand in it somehow. She knew she had no resources and was returning home without a support network. She knew Ruth would be viewed as a foreigner, not as an asset. Ruth turned out to be a blessing but, for a time, she was seen as a burden. 

How many burdens do we experience in life that preoccupy our thoughts, cause depression, and prevent us from seeing our blessings? Naomi spends three chapters of the book depressed and angry at God, even telling people to stop calling her Naomi but call her Mara instead (which means "sad"). But the last chapter is a game changer for Naomi. The message of this short book is not to give up on God even when things seem hopeless. Burdens and blessings often go together. Perhaps living through the first helps us appreciate the second even more. What do you think?