. On More .

Naomi was a widow in the bible. Her husband and her sons died.

Naomi was bereft. The verse specifically uses that word. 

Bereft.

Anyway, she was a widow and her children were gone, but she had two daughters-in-law. One was named Ruth. 

Some of my most favorite lines in scripture come from Ruth. Naomi tries to tell her daughters-in-law to go on without her. To return to their own homes. Leave her be - in her hurt, in her great sadness. She tried to push them away.

They wept together. 

And then Ruth.

My favorite champion Ruth. 

She stood in front of her mother-in-law and she said nope. Not today, kid. In some of the most poignant, fierce words, she says, "Don't make me leave you. Wherever you're going, I'm going. Wherever you're living, I'm going to live there, too. Your people will be my people - my tribe. We're going to love the same Jesus, and when you die, well. I'm gonna to die, too." 

And so she stayed. Loyal. Firm. Resolved. Unwavering. And Naomi? She believed her. 

Bestie Betsy and I - when things are bad ... when life is rough and one of us is in some kind of deep, deep dark place ... we check in with these verses. 

Where you go, I go. 
Where you live, I'll live.
Your people, they're my people.

It's a hush. A quiet. A warm outstretched hand and a head nod. It's an, "I know it sucks right now, but the good is coming," in a way that each of us seem to understand. 

It's a call to the other that we're not alone. Never alone. 

You know, I'm not really a relationship expert. I suppose one failed marriage doesn't exactly give you street cred when it comes to telling people how to do it right. 

But.

Just ... but.

When I think about more. 

When I think about people doing life ... permanently ... forever ... with someone else, I think of Ruth. 

Someone that will always bat on your team even if you suck at baseball and don't know what RBI stands for.
Someone that will help you with the hard decisions, that will help you hang the pictures straight, and will help you get over your hurts. 
Someone that will be in the same room with you and thirty other people, but will always ... always ... be searching for you.
Someone who hits their knees hard for you - someone that joins you on the floor. 
Someone that keeps your secrets safe in their chest. Someone that encourages you, pushes you, makes you want to do better.
Someone that won't leave when it sucks the most. Someone that just ... stays. 
Someone that says that you're enough ... worth it.

Worth the more. 

Today ... I'm celebrating Ruth. Ruth and her brave heart. 

xoxo, B.