“Ruth, You Were a Hero to Many!!”
Hero?
What is a hero? Is it someone famous, wealthy, known by millions, etc.? The dictionary’s definition is, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Probably your definition of a hero may be different than mine or even the dictionary. We all have our own thought of what a hero is to us. But most people if you were to ask them who their hero was they would have someone. My definition of a hero is someone that is close to God. And when you are around them you feel the love of God shining through them. It doesn’t mean they are perfect but that they are striving for being the best person they can be with the help of God.
Life changes…
Life changes so quickly!! We have lost another friend. In one weekend we lost two friends. This friend has lived a long life and was a very special lady. She was an encouragement to all. It would be hard to even put down on paper what she meant to all of us. She was so kind and loving and accepting of all. Thankfully she went peacefully and in a position she was very familiar with, prayer.
She was at our church for many a year. But then moved away a few years ago so she could be near her family. She came for a visit recently and it was so nice to see her. As I ponder how she looked she didn’t really look any different, she looked great. I am so thankful we all got to see her one last time and that we got to see her how we remember her, full of life.
Homeschooling
I remember years ago as I was struggling to homeschool my children. It seemed that there was so much work that was given, especially in math. There were so many problems to accomplish in a day that it would take up most of the morning. It was tough and discouraging.
So as a homeschooling mom and Ruth being a retired teacher she was helpful. I remember when she told me that as a teacher they never finished books. She shared with me that they never did every math problem in each lesson. That took such a stress off of me. I would push my kids way beyond what was necessary so that we could finish the book. And I guess mostly we still finished the book but we would skip some parts, especially in math. What this special lady said to me helped my children and me.
My children
She so much cared for each one in our family as well as everyone around her. When she was here for the visit recently she told me how she still had Valentine’s card that my son, Michael, gave to her. She treasured it. She got to tell my son as well, which was a blessing to him as he heard the news of her death. Many years ago Michael remembers getting a letter from her that was in the shape of a fish he has fond memories of her. She was so caring.
Jeffrey, Aaron, and Caleb also remember getting letters from her. When I asked each one of my young people what they remembered about Ruth, the letters she wrote was their first response. The other thing that stuck out in their minds was when she would preach. She always gave out a paper to each one of the children with 3 or 4 words on it. They were to keep track of how many times she said those words. Then after the service, she would count them and see if they got all the times that she said them. During the week they would get a little card from her with compliments on how they did. It was special to them.
She loved children and helped out at many Vacation Bible Schools. She told the Bible stories and the kids just loved it. One of the things that Jeffrey and Aaron remember is that before she would tell her story she would tell all the children to look at her and stay looking at her. She would point to the bridge of her nose and tell them to keep their eyes there. When someone would quit looking at her she would stop talking until everyone’s full attention was on her.
She also headed up a family class at our church when there were not enough kids to have a division. All the families with children gathered together and she taught them all. She was able to reach from the youngest to the oldest. There was a presence about her that drew everyone’s attention without her saying a word.
My daughter does not remember as much about her as she was younger but one thing I remember is how she opened her home for a baby shower for my daughter. She opened her home many times for many people.
Elderly
When we first got to know Ruth she was elderly, in her 70’s. But she had a burden for the elderly. She faithfully planned a service once a month at the local care center besides visiting there other times during the week. It seemed to me that even though she had a heart for all people that the elderly had a special place in her heart. I don’t think she really considered herself elderly. She kept her mind until the end and even was still driving, not many can say that.
The other thing that she did was memorize scripture. She could quote whole chapters from the Bible. When she would go to a care center she would often quote from memory large portions Scripture. I can’t remember what it was now but I do remember her quoting a lengthy portion from Scripture for a sermon once. It was so amazing to watch.
Music
Ruth loved music. She never wanted music to be left out. And she loved to sing. There was just one problem. She could not carry a tune and she had no problem admitting to the fact. Although she could not carry a tune I can say it still was not that difficult to sing next to her because she did not sing all over the board like some that can’t carry a tune. She pretty much stuck to one note or maybe two. But it did not stop her from praising the Lord. I, along with many others, are looking forward to the day when we are before the throne of grace and we get to hear the most melodious voice of Ruth. She will be singing with such gratitude to God for His love and mercy.
Being that Ruth was a teacher she was a planner. She even had a plan for her memorial service. Planned out was the songs she wanted, the speaker, the players, the singers, and some of what she wanted said. My son, Caleb and I had the honor of being on her list to sing. We added in my daughter, who Ruth never got a chance to hear sing. When I was asked if we would be willing to sing, I told them how can I say no? It was a great honor.
Praying
She was a praying woman, a person of great faith, and she prayed for many!! I can’t imagine how much time she must have spent in prayer. But it had to be a lot because she prayed for so many people. I believe that is one reason she lived to be almost 96 years old. She trusted God implicitly; at least that is how it seemed to me. I’m sure she must have had her time of worry but she sure didn’t show it.
Prayer is the key that opens the storehouse of heaven where God is waiting and willing to pour out His blessings into our lives and Ruth knew that. Even at the end of her life, she was found kneeling by her bed. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the last thing that she was doing before she died was praying. And I believe all her prayers will ascend before the Father continually even though she is resting until He comes.
Hero
To me, Ruth was a true hero. She never looked at herself as a hero or even considered herself anyone special. But what made her a hero to me was her connection with Jesus. She reflected the character of Jesus to those around her. Was she perfect? No, she made her mistakes. But she would also humble herself when the Lord spoke to her heart. Humans are not perfect and we should never put people on a pedestal. But sometimes the only Jesus people meet is the Jesus that is reflecting through us. And Ruth was one of those people. She reflected the love of Jesus to all. People felt her love and felt accepted of her. She is resting awaiting the voice of Jesus to call her name. And I know that there are many of us that want to be there when her name is called.
Are you…
So the question is are you ready? Are you reflecting the love of Jesus to others? The connection that we have with our Heavenly Father is the most important connection that we can have. I know that Ruth wants to see all those she loved in heaven with her. But she also wants to see all those she has never even met. That is just who Ruth was, she loved all. What is our legacy going to be? I pray that I can have a legacy of love.
Dear Father,
Comfort those who are hurting. We all miss Ruth but I know her family is hurting the most because of this loss so give them extra special comfort. Thank you for giving Ruth such a long life to share Your love with others. May she rest in peace until You come.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Draw close to Jesus so that you can reflect His love to others.
Love you all.
Did you know Ruth? How did she bless your life?
“What happened to the House?!!”
Things…
This seems to be a topic I keep coming back to but I think it is so important. We take so many things for granted every day. We live as if life will always be the same. You never know when life can change forever. We need to be grateful to God each day for what we do have.
Beginning…
Many years ago when my husband and I got married we had our dreams. We started by buying the property. We could not afford much so we placed an old mobile home on the property and lived hauling water for 2 years. Our dream was to live in a mobile home for a small amount of time and then build a house.
As the years passed and the children were coming, we did not have the room we needed. We only had a single wide 2-bedroom mobile home and the one-bedroom we have always referred to as the postage stamp room.
I remember having two kids in a bunk bed in the postage stamp room. We had a baby in our room and a toddler bed in the living room under the overhanging counter from the kitchen.
Addition…
We finally built on an addition so we had more room. We designed it in such a way that we could pull away the mobile home and build our house. The design included an area for taking care of my parents when needed. This has been the master bedroom, office, music room, etc. But we are coming up to our 30th year of marriage and we do not foresee a house coming into the picture any time soon.
There have been many changes over the years. In 1995 we put a new kitchen in our old mobile home. Since my husband is a cabinetmaker and we have our own business it seemed logical.
I don’t even remember the year but we qualified for assistance in making the mobile home better insulated. They came and replaced all our mobile home windows to really nice windows. And they sealed up the bottom of the mobile home with more insulation. It made such a difference in the winter. One year we remodeled the bathroom, which made such a difference. We even had a solid surface countertop, leftovers from a cabinet job we did.
Then we remodeled the back bedroom furred out the walls a little and put in more insulation. I am not kidding when I say, when we pulled the paneling away there were areas that were just paneling space and outside metal, no insulation. This mobile home was built in the ’60s and they saved money on insulation, Lol! And another year we remodeled the postage stamp room and made it just a little smaller so it could get better insulation.
Difficulties!
I remember when we first moved the mobile home up to our 10 acres. We had no clue the amount of snow we would get. It was a mild winter and we actually moved it on the property in the winter. And into the snow belt non-the less.
We discovered very quickly the next year that mobile homes, especially old ones, do not hold up to the snow load. So needless to say our roof was damaged. Our ceiling started sagging with the water load and we would put holes in the ceiling so the water could drain out. It also did damage to the roof’s structure. So we had to build a roof over the top.
But then…
Even though we have had difficulties it has been a roof over us and kept us warm. It has not been our dream and we still dream of having a house someday but at least we have a place to call our own to live in. Too many times we are not grateful for what we have and we are always looking on the other side of the fence because we think it is greener.
But then a few weeks ago the reality really hit me how much I appreciate my home even though it isn’t my dream. We almost lost our house.
We were all gone except one of my sons. He was working in our cabinet shop and came into the house for something. He smelt electrical and was going around the house to see where it was coming from but he could not figure it out. As he was standing in the kitchen, suddenly flames started coming up from behind the gas range. Thankfully he was able to grab the extinguisher and put the fire out. But if he hadn’t been in the house it would have been gone.
Grateful
We tend to go through life taking everything for granted. The thought of gratefulness each day that we have a house to come home to doesn’t really cross our minds. We don’t think about the fact that we made it to and from work, school, shopping, etc., safely. It just seems that most of the time we take it all for granted.
A lot of us may even pray before we leave our home asking for safety but do we send up a prayer of thanksgiving when we arrive home safely. Maybe I am the only one that forgets to be grateful but I have a feeling that is not the case. We get so caught up in everyday life we take life for granted.
Christians
As Christians, we should always be grateful. We should understand the sovereignty of God and the life that He sustains us with every day. I think we often use Him as a puppet. We expect Him to provide and do in our lives what we expect and how we think our lives should go.
Then when things come along in life that is unexpected it is harder to keep our faith. But the reality is we need to be so close to God that when those things come it makes our faith in Him stronger. Because we trust Him so implicitly we can go on with joy in our hearts even in sorrow.
Jesus is our example! “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2.
Christ
I believe the Father’s presence surrounded Christ when He was here on earth and that nothing was allowed but that infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world. This was actually Christ’s source of strength. And it can be the same for us. When we are imbued with the Spirit of Christ we abide in Christ. So every blow that is aimed at us falls on our wonderful Savior, who surrounds us with His presence. Everything that comes to us comes from Christ. The most wonderful thing is that Christ is our defense. And even greater NOTHING can touch us except by our Lord and Savior’s permission. We have this wonderful promise that He has given us, “All things” that are permitted “work together for good to them that love God” Romans 8:28.
We can be so grateful for the promises that God has given us to cling to. And also for His Word that we have available to us at this time. We need to treasure it. We never know when we may not have the privilege of having the Word. But we can hide it in our hearts and minds so we will always have it with us, no one can take that away from us.
Dear Father,
Your love abounds and is beyond our comprehension. Thank You for Your unfailing love. You are always there for us for which I am grateful. Remind me each day, Lord, that without You sustaining my life and I would not be here. I need You to remind me that You care even when the sparrow falls. So how much more You care for me when I fail or have any difficulties.
Remind me of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air and how You take care of them and they don’t worry as I do. I can claim the promises You have given me that You will take care of me. You will give me a way of escape in time of temptation. In the time of crisis, You will work all things together for my good and the good of those around me. I am forgetful, Lord, so I am asking You to do whatever it takes to help me remember. Prompt me and guide me with Your presence. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer for not only myself but for each one of us.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Don’t take life for granted! Be grateful each day! And give all your worries and trials to Him.
Love you all!
What evidence has God given you that He cares? It doesn’t matter how big or small I would love to hear your story.