At that time Jesus
said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Matthew 11:25
Watching
little ones become completely captivated by common things such as balloons or
their own shadow is beyond charming. But
as I witness my own kids fearlessly embrace these fascinating wonders that
science offers I find myself feeling as if I’m missing out on something.
Balloons
have captured Jake and Lilly’s hearts since they were itty bitty. Shadows are their newest fascination. Chasing their own shadow or being followed
instead, waving, or even hiding in the shade to make their shadows momentarily
disappear are among the ways they entertain themselves while running around in
the backyard.
Shadows
are not mysterious to me anymore the way they used to be when I was a kid. The light required at just the right angle to
produce either a larger or smaller version of me is something I don’t even see
any more- unless Jake or Lilly point it out to me saying, “Look! Mommy’s shadow!!”
Last
week I prayed a teeny tiny little prayer.
Honestly, it seemed pretty insignificant, but it was important to
me. When God answered my prayer, I was
stunned. I am still talking about that
teeny tiny little prayer that He answered in the most personal way- and it happened over a week
ago. I keep saying to God, “Thank you
for answering my prayer! I can’t believe
you care enough to answer such a small request.” I can imagine God saying, “Well, why did you
ask me then?” It’s not that I don’t have
faith that God can do anything we ask, as long as it is in line with His
will; it’s just that if I’m honest, I
really wasn’t expecting Him to answer my seemingly insignificant request.
Something
inside me was rekindled by this simple little answer from a God who sometimes
seems so far away. I needed to be
reminded of the mystery of a God whose ways are so far above what my mind can
comprehend. Kinda like rediscovering the
joy of watching my shadow sway in synchronized movement right in front of
me. Like falling back on a childlike
faith in which belief in the unseen far outweighs logical reasoning. Trying to fit a mighty, magnificent, and holy
God into a box that I designed and fashioned has never worked out too well for
me. When Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children,” I think he was in the company of those who had failed
to embrace the mystery of God. I think
they lost sight of their shadows.
Naomi knew about shadows, too.
The book of Ruth is a beautiful love story of redemption and loyalty,
but it’s also about a woman who had been dealt a tough hand and perhaps
wondered if God had abandoned her. The
story begins with a famine that forces her to leave her home with her husband
and two sons and travel to the country of Moab.
While in this foreign land, she loses her beloved husband. Ten years pass and then both of her sons pass
away as well. Her sons had both married,
so she is left with two daughters-in-law.
When word came that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by
providing food, the three women prepared to return to Naomi’s home. Not too far into their journey, Naomi urged
them to return to their own homelands and their own families. She cried out, “The Lord’s hand has turned
against me!” I have not walked the road
this woman was walking, but I know that place.
The place where reasoning convinces you that God does not care and does
not even see you.
The story continues as Ruth refuses to leave Naomi; in fact the bible
says “Ruth clung to her.” (Ruth 1:14)
She tells Naomi, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my
God.” (Ruth 1:16) Now I have to believe that Ruth had some
pretty good reasons for making the decision she made. Her mother-in-law was begging her to return
home to “her family and her gods.” What
we don’t know is how soon Ruth married into the family after Naomi’s husband
died. Ten years separated her
husband's passing and her two sons' deaths.
In the past few years I can name four women I know personally who have
been widowed, and watching them in the aftermath of heartbreak is probably the
clearest picture of their faith. I have
to believe that Ruth saw something in Naomi as she picked up the pieces of her
shattered heart, and over time opened it up to two women whom she would call
family.
When Ruth and Naomi arrived in
Bethlehem, the entire town was ecstatic.
But Naomi tells them, “Don’t call me Naomi (which means pleasant). Call me Mara (bitter), because the Almighty
has made my life very bitter. I went
away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has
brought misfortune upon me.” (Ruth 1:20-21)
In the footnote of my study bible, I read that the Hebrew word that
Naomi uses here, ra`a`, is
the strongest term for evil in
the Hebrew language. It also means to
shatter or break.
The
story continues as Ruth sets out to glean the fields and finds favor with a man
named Boaz. Hearing of how Ruth
followed her mother-in-law and was looking after her, Boaz said, “May the Lord repay
you for what you have done. May you be
richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come
to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:12)
When
Ruth returned one evening with all of her barley and leftovers from lunch she
had shared with Boaz, Naomi began to see the shadow. As light crept into her broken soul, she
realized that God had not turned His back after all. I love the way the Message translates her
comment: “God hasn’t quite walked out on us after all! He still loves us, in bad times as well as
good!” (Ruth 2:20) As Naomi began to put
the pieces together of how God was working, she returned to her childlike
faith. She remembered that God doesn’t
always work the way we think He should.
(In fact this never happens!)
God’s promise that He will never leave or forsake one of His own was rekindled
and she reached out and held onto it, despite her pain. Naomi began to see God’s protective hand in
her life, and then one day she allowed God to use her story in His bigger
story.
Ruth
3:1 says, “One day
Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for
you, where you will be well provided for.” (emphasis mine) One
day. One day Naomi woke up and was sick to death of her own sorrow. She was tired of weeping and tired of
focusing on her own pain. When her gaze
shifted from her own loss to Ruth, who had also lost so much, she took the
first step towards healing in her own heart.
And it all began with being reminded of the mysterious love of God.
Jake
and Lilly still don’t quite understand that when the sun is not out, shadows
cannot be seen. We all know that the
easiest time to spot a shadow moving is when the sun is shining. But life, unfortunately, is not always
sunny. In fact, sometimes there are
years that go by without a break in the clouds.
But all it takes is the slightest bit of light, a crack in the sky, to become
fascinated with shadows dancing along the ground.
Naomi,
who had been bitter for so many years, began to recognize God’s love, even
though it had been there all along. She
saw it for the first time in years, and what a difference it made! The story ends with a marriage and a
baby. Ruth 4:16 says that “Naomi took
the child in her arms and cared for him.”
But the story was not over, because this little boy would become the
grandfather of King David, and eventually Jesus Christ would be born into his
family line.
God
took these two widows under His wing and their story, broken hearts and all,
became His story. Psalm 36:7 says, “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” (emphasis mine) Today, whether the sun is shining in your
life or the skies are as dark as can be, look for evidence of God’s mysterious
love for you. Seek refuge under the
shadow of His wings.
