The story of Ruth is a beautiful one. It starts off with a woman called Naomi leaving Bethlehem with her husband and two sons because of a drought, and going to the land of the Moabites.

Disaster follows – Naomi’s husband dies and, shortly after getting married, so do both her sons.

Naomi decides to return home, and her daughter-in-law Ruth, a Moabitess,  insists on going with her.

“I left full and I come back empty,” Naomi tells her kin when she arrives home. But that is not exactly true. Ruth sticks by her side and goes “gleaning” a practice where the poor and landless follow behind the reapers in the harvest, and get the leftovers. She is spotted by Naomi’s relative Boaz, who tells his men to leave extra for her.

He tells Ruth to stay in his field, and ensures his workers give her water and look after her. Eventually Naomi organises for Ruth to marry Boaz, and so it all ends happily with another baby boy, who Naomi gets to nurse.

“Your daughter-in-law, who loves you, is better than seven sons.” Ruth and Boaz are among the ancestors of Jesus.

So a lovely story about staying loyal even in tough times, and about the healing power of loyalty, hope and love.

Dear God, Ruth is a beautiful story. Thank you for the gifts of love, hope, loyalty and kindness, please help me to share them with those around me. Thank you for my family. Thank you for this healing time with my own father. You are amazing, the way you work in my life to heal my wounds. Please help me do this for others. Please place healers in the lives of those I have hurt, particularly P, S and S. In Jesus name, Amen