ruth 1. {relationships}

this summer, i must admit that my time in the word has been sporadic and haphazard. i will go for days in a row reading and diving into scripture, and then go for a few days without even opening my bible. my best friend and i were talking about this, and we decided to do some studying of the word together, starting with the book of ruth. today, we read ruth chapter 1. the main thing that stood out to me in this chapter were the following verses:

"where you go i will go, and where you stay i will stay. your people will be my people and your God my God. where you die i will die, and there i will be buried." {ruth 1:16b-17a}

where is my devotion to those around me? so often, we quit on those we love. we move on. we grow apart. we fight and refuse to speak again.

this week, at my grandpa's funeral, i met his dear friend jack. my grandpa and jack were best friends for 70 years, all the way until my grandpa passed away. they were always best friends. always. they weren't acquaintances...they shared their hearts with each other and challenged each other and drew each other closer to God. i've heard so much about jack that i can't even begin to tell the stories. i've grown up hearing about him, as he was such a major part of my grandpa's life. i was talking to jack's daughter and she was blown away by their friendship. she was almost 50, and had always known my grandpa - all her life, he was a major part of her family. she reflected on my grandpa and jack's friendship, saying "you just don't see friendships like that anymore. you don't see commitment to relationship. people move on all too often. people stop investing in each other."

both of these events have been strong reminders this week of the value of friendships. to be honest, i don't possess a commitment to relationships like my grandpa did. i don't possess a commitment to relationships like ruth did. i am trying to learn how to stick with people, even when they hurt me. even when they leave me broken, bruised, and scarred. i'm trying to remember that God has placed each and every person in my life for a reason, and i don't take advantage of that or seek God in that nearly enough.

i've been hurt by a lot of people. the people who promised to never give up on me and to love me no matter what are the ones who have hurt me most {excluding my parents}. friends have stabbed me in the back too many times to count. but i devalue those people and friendships, writing them off as meaningless, without remembering that God put them in my life with purpose.

my lesson of the day is that i need to invest in the people in my life. love on them. learn their hearts. stay faithful and loyal to them. i need to show people a godly example of friendship.

although she had no incentive, ruth stayed with naomi in the hard times, and was richly blessed for it. God stayed faithful to ruth as she stayed faithful to naomi. God will remain faithful to me, therefore i must remain faithful to those he has put in my life.