Waiting for Boaz – Ruth was a woman of devotion and faith. Even through heartache and grief she chose to stay strong. She lost everything and yet still went with her mother-in-law to start a new life. It was difficult, but God had a promise for her that she did not yet realize. Ruth put in hard manual labor to earn her way and take care of her family. God saw this in her and found a man with the same ideals of hard work and honesty. God allowed Boaz to respectfully marry Ruth after a long period of waiting. Boaz took Ruth as his wife and they were able to redeem their household for the future of their people. So, even from Ruth’s heartache and from Boaz’s hope, God created a pair into one.
One of my favorite Bible stories still to this day, Ruth teaches us patience for love that is worth the wait. My understanding of this love grows every day now that I have personally experienced the grace that I so knowingly don’t deserve. Pen pals. Do people even participate in such a foreign concept anymore? Well, that’s how I worded the email to a complete stranger. My neighbors, aka his grandparents, encouraged me to write an email. Let’s face it, the men and women on deployment go such a long period of time away from their family and friends that any little bit of encouragement is worth an email to a stranger. So I sent it. Then I waited. To my surprise, he wrote me back. I was shocked he would reply, but the next thing you know, this girl was sending Christmas cookies halfway around the world. What I didn’t know then was if he could be the man I have been praying for my entire life.
So we wrote, tending to a modern-day pen pal relationship except for the use of emails instead of letters. After six months of writing, in anticipation along with a constant countdown of the days and hours we would wait, he met me at my front door. There he stood, and for the first time in my life I understood what it meant to be home. It wasn’t an introduction but instead a reunion that had been building for six months. Six days later I waved him off at the airport with no idea of what would come next, but God sure did. Even now, the months of waiting, video chatting, and writing with regular late-night conversations, the conclusion remains the same: He is the Boaz I’ve been waiting for. Every minute is worth it. No matter how long we have to wait, I know that this small sacrifice will pay off a great reward. Our God is a giving God and His reward will be greater than anything that we could dream up.
He may not be perfect, but it doesn’t change the fact that God sent a Boaz into my life. I don’t deserve the kind of mercy my Lord so freely gives, but do any of us really? As a girl who found herself pregnant at nineteen and then to leading small groups a year later — God can redeem anything. I thought it would never be my turn. With my son’s father not present and my college career ended, I was scared. God thought otherwise, helping me see that I am not condemned. Instead, He wants to redeem everything in our lives for the future. I’ve worked hard to make sure my son comes first, raising him in faith and love. I have waited, not always patiently, but now find myself right in front of my very own Boaz. This Boaz I don’t deserve, but God still gives him freely.
Lord, thank you for not condemning us but instead redeeming us especially in the moments we think won’t ever end.
God loves you and crowns you in grace. Walk tall, ladies, Boaz is waiting.
Because you are what God says that you are! You are enough!But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Ruth 1:16
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Today’s Guest Writer:
Raylee Alford is a single mom with an amazing support team of family and friends who strive to put God first. She is a graduate of Highlands College with a certificate in ministry and is currently finishing her associates degree in welding. She plans to have a career as a welder, writer, artist, and mom, always breathing prayer into their lives. Raylee blogs at Welded in His Word.
Feature Image Photo by Brandon Morgan on Unsplash
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