"May the Lord bless him!" Naomi told her daughter-in-law. "He is showing his kindness to you as well as to your dead husband. That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers." Ruth 2:20
This week we are reading verses 18-23 in the second chapter of Ruth (The Book of Lovingkindness) and chapter 7 of The Girl's Still Got It, by Liz Curtis Higgs. If you have some catching up to do, that's ok! Jump right in, come as you are. I am so glad you are here!
First, I have to say a great big Hallelujah! After years of computer issues, I finally have a new computer! I am very thankful for this speedy little machine :) If you're wondering if you missed a blog for chapter 6, you didn't. I did. The last 2 weeks were, well, a little overwhelming & overbooked. I just couldn't deal with computer problems on top of all of it. I hope chapter 6 enlightened, informed, and entertained. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Feel free to include them in the Comments on this post.
Amidst all of the stress of the last 2 weeks, I realized I needed to take some time for myself. I had been avoiding the treadmill and felt awful about it. I was just muscling through our book & study. I needed some quiet mindfulness that really made me focus and not allow my mind to wander. So, I turned back to my yoga practice and a new source (for me), YouTube. I found Yoga with Adrienne, did a random session or two and then decided to take her 30 Day Challenge. Now, I usually don't do challenges, just not my thing. But, I liked her style and I needed a push. I started it last Monday; by Day 3 I was struggling to take that 20 minutes to practice (told you I don't do challenges), but I did it and I'm happy to say I just finished Day 7! And it was 30 minutes long!!
The interesting thing about today's practice was that there was no picture. I'm sure it was my total lack of understanding of how the TV, Blu-Ray player and the 2 remotes work, that caused this glitch; no matter what I tried, I couldn't see the sweet smile of Adrienne. Instead of turning it off, I embraced the black screen and just listened to her voice. The yogi always leads the class by verbal instruction, so I didn't think it would be that difficult. It was definitely a different experience. I had to really pay attention and not rely on seeing her in a pose. At one point I wasn't quite sure what she meant, so I did what I thought she was saying. Part way through, I confused two poses and was doing Warrior 2 when I should have been doing Warrior 1; I fixed it when we did it on the other side. But, I also noticed that I wasn't distracted with visual stimulus. I didn't watch the traffic out her window, I didn't wish my house was as uncluttered as hers, and I didn't admire the antique writing table in the corner. I just listened and moved. It was both humbling & empowering.
The black TV screen with a guiding voice reminds me of my relationship with God, my Redeemer. I don't always have a visual, but through His word and being in a community of believers, I am able to move forward, doing what He says. I don't always get it right, sometimes I have to guess at exactly what He means, and sometimes I get it wrong or am confused. But, God continues to guide me, knowing I'll get it right the next time. He gently guides my movements as long as I am listening, purposefully tuned in to His voice. And He allows for making adjustments along the way. Through the many blessings of life, He reminds me to breathe and smile.
I wonder if our ancient sister Ruth felt this way. Clearly, she heard God's call to move. But without a visual (a flashing neon arrow or at least the gratitude of her mother-in-law) how did she know she was getting it right? I'm going to guess that it was her faith that allowed her to boldly go in the direction that God was calling her. She did the best she could; she did what she thought God was telling her to do and left the rest up to Him. What an important message for us!
Chapter 7 in our book starts to show us how Boaz parallels what God does for His people and foreshadows what Jesus will do for us. Turn to the study guide questions in the back of the book. They are especially good this week and will help deepen our relationship with our Redeemer; moving as God leads, even when we don't have a visual!
Scroll down and leave a comment, question or "ah-ha" moment!
Your Partner in Ministry,
Shelly
warrior
"Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24
No comments:
Post a Comment