Ideal Daughter-In-Law

 

    Relationships are complicated.  Some are easier than others, but they all take work.  The in-law situation can be one of the most complicated there are.  Moms seem to bond with their sons in a different way than their daughters.  With the daughter they teach them how to be independent, a lady, and a wife.  

    With the son it is just different.  That is why it can be hard when they get married.  A new woman has his full attention and apart in the family.  It may be a female that you would never want into your family.  How do you make it work?

    When the judges were the leaders of the Israel nation, there was a very bad famine.  To save his family, Elimelech them to Moab to live.  That is where he and Naomi raised their sons Mahlon and Kilion.  It should be no surprise that they fell in love with women of the nation and married Orpah and Ruth.  It is not like they has Hebrew women to choose from.  

    This may have been a hard time for Ruth or maybe she loved them from the beginning.  No one would have foreseen what would happen next.  The two sons died too.  That left the three widow to fend for themselves in their heartbreak and no children to find comfort in.  The women clung to each other in their mourning.

    Naomi had no way of taking care of them or herself, so she decided to return home.  The girls felt like they had nothing because it seems like something happened to the men of the area.  She ordered them to go to their mother's home because she could not offer them any hope even if they made the journey home.  Orpah listened to Naomi's wisdom and went back.  Ruth followed her heart and conscience.  She insisted that she would not leave Naomi's side even if it led to death.   

    Ruth became more than the ideal daughter-in-law.  She became blood born from faithful loyalty because she knowingly was headed to a place where Moabs were not welcome.  When Naomi got home the people were happy to see her, but she changed her name to Mara.  Mara means she had a bitter life.  She was mourning and names would change with circumstances in life..  Ruth was her one comfort in life and the people saw that.

    Naomi and Ruth had everything stacked against them, but they loved each other.  They were in-laws, different ages, different cultures, different religions, different backgrounds, and had stressors of survival that can bring out the worst in people.  Yet, they thrived in their relationship.  That is what we all want.  We want to be able to show our weaknesses or ugly side and still be loved.  We all want to be accepted for who we are.

Ruth 1