Sometimes things just don't go as planned! As I sat this morning and wrote "the best blog post ever" I hit one small key on this computer and it was all gone! Poof - no recovering, nothing it was just gone!
I kind of had a little meltdown, and my sister's reply "I guess God wants you to write something else!"
This week we started reading about Ruth and Naomi, two refugees that were wandering and wondering how they would survive after the loss of the men in their lives. In chapter 2 of Ruth we meet Boaz, a distant family member who allowed Ruth to glean from his fields. If you aren't familiar with gleaning here is a snippet:
I kind of had a little meltdown, and my sister's reply "I guess God wants you to write something else!"
This week we started reading about Ruth and Naomi, two refugees that were wandering and wondering how they would survive after the loss of the men in their lives. In chapter 2 of Ruth we meet Boaz, a distant family member who allowed Ruth to glean from his fields. If you aren't familiar with gleaning here is a snippet:
Old Testament
According to the Holiness Code and the Deuteronomic Code of the Torah, farmers should leave the corners of their fields unharvested, and they should not attempt to pick up that which was dropped or harvest any left-overs that had been forgotten when they had harvested the majority of a field.[2][3][4] On one of the two occasions that this is mentioned by the Holiness Code, it adds that, in vineyards, some grapes should be left ungathered,[5] an argument made also by the Deuteronomic Code.[6]
New Testament
Jesus and his disciples practiced a form of gleaning as they walked through grain fields breaking off heads of wheat to eat.[9]
In this season of "giving" some people go all out and are very generous to foundations, causes and people - they give, check that box off of their holiday list and feel good about doing so. Giving like this is a great thing, and many people benefit. But what about December 26? What about the elderly neighbor that eats cereal every night and her family lives so far away, or perhaps she has no family at all? How do we cultivate that 'giving' mindset to go with us long after that holiday season? I hope you will take a moment today and read at least chapter two of Ruth. Ultimately Ruth would become Boaz' wife, but in the beginning he was providing for two women that had no where else to go, and no means to provide. Look around you today as you go about your work schedule or your fun holiday events - find a way to give back that is not all about the season but more about the nudging in your heart to have a giving spirit. The gift of your time can be the most valuable of all, to sit and listen to someone in need. Sometimes when we are in need ourselves if we take the time to look outward and see how we can 'give' to someone else it helps us realize that maybe we are more blessed than we realize.
After Ruth gleaned in the fields Naomi said these words to her (Ruth 2:20) Naomi said to her daughter in law "May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living or the dead".
Go today and be a blessing to someone..... and be blessed.
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