Happy mothers day to all UK mums! Today is a day to celebrate our mums- how much we love them and appreciate everything they've done for us. Your mum may be present or not, but I'm sure we can all celebrate one woman who has done so much for us and been there the whole way through.
Mums and daughters have a very special relationship, they seem to get through thick and thin. It's just a woman thing! I know this because my mum and I haven't always been the best of friends, we've had our fights but that's natural and life goes on. I'll always love her because she's my mum and knows me better than any other person on earth. She's motivated me, told me when I'm being stupid, reassured me in my time of trouble, loved me, nursed me, been completely and utterly silly with me and brought me up to be the young woman I am today. I'm very lucky to have a mum who has loved me and brought me this far through my life while dealing with my rubbish!
I want to look into a mother in the Bible, Naomi. Both her sons died, her husband had died and she had no daughters, apart from her two daughter-in-laws (Orpha and Ruth). She urged them to go back to their people and their Gods, they both protested and eventually Orpha gave up but Ruth clung to Naomi and was loyal to her. They headed back to Bethlehem together, nothing separating them. Naomi was deeply distraught as she had just lost both her sons and said, "The LORD's had has turned against me!"
When they reach Bethlehem, Ruth takes care of Naomi by collecting leftover grain from the fields. Naomi now calls Ruth her daughter as she has been so loyal to her. As a mother would be, Naomi is worried about Ruth's safety when gathering the grain from the fields and she expresses this in chapter 2:22 when she finds out she is gathering from Boaz's field, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else's field you might be harmed."
In chapter 3 we see Naomi caring even further for Ruth by wanting to find her a home where she will be well provided for, Naomi knows Boaz (as he is a relative) would be a good suitor for Ruth, so she sets them up... basically, "Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes." Good advice Naomi! This seems to work although due to tradition, he is not the closest relative that could redeem the land, also acquiring Ruth in the process, so if the closer one doesn't want to then he says he surely will... result! Ruth reports back to Naomi all that Boaz said probably with much excitement and nervousness as you can imagine.
In chapter 4 we see that the closer relative wants the land but when it comes to having to take on Ruth too, he's not for it! I bet at this point Boaz was happy that he could have the land and Ruth. They have a child, Obed, who was then taken care of be Naomi and was such a blessing to her and sustained her in her old age.
The story of Naomi and Ruth is truly amazing. Even though Naomi was not Ruth's biological mother, Ruth stayed loyal to her and refused to go back to her home land. As a result of this, Naomi made sure Ruth was taken care of and found a good husband, gave her advice and supported her through it. She never left her on her own or to sort out stuff herself, she was fully involved in Ruth's life. Naomi took in Ruth's son, Obed and raised him as her own. I think both mothers and daughters can take in much from this passage. Mothers-in-law too! Loyalty is key in this relationship but also just going through girly stuff like boyfriends and how to basically impress a guy! I think this is a great story, one that people should pay more attention to and look into more!
I hope all mums had a fantastic day today, and got treated very well by their children!
Charlotte :)
