Marilyn's Mussings

Have you ever pondered exactly when Ruth became a believer? Naomi had two daughters-in-law. Scripture is clear that they both had a good relationship with Naomi. She was special to them in that she was the mother of their husbands. But upon the death of those men, they were forced to walk together through a tragedy like none other. The shared grief must have fostered a unique kind of closeness between the three women. When Naomi decided to go home to Bethlehem, she encouraged the two young women to go back to their own homes in Moab.  "May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." (Ruth 1:8b-9 NIV) Scripture says that she kissed them but they wept aloud as they protested. After some discussion, the one daughter-in-law, while weeping, kissed Naomi and left. She loved her and maybe it was hard, but she left all the same. Ruth stayed. Scripture says she clung to Nao...

When Ruth said to Naomi, "Your people shall be my people," neither of them were thinking about where they would spend Thanksgiving or which traditions they would hold on to for Christmas. But those decisions have the potential to crumble mountains in some families. Decisions about the holidays may be the hardest "in-law" test for new couples and their parents. From what I have observed, the mothers-in-law that navigate holidays the best are those who had the most heartache as daughters-in-law. The difficulty they experienced seems to make them the most gracious to the new couple. Holidays are hard. My first thanksgiving with my husband's family was a bit of a shock. Everything was completely foreign to what I knew and I wanted to cry. Every couple's prior holiday experiences are different and both assume that what they came from is the right way. They will need time to adjust and figure out what their own holidays will look like. I came to appreciate the Joh...

Entreat me not to leave you, Or to  turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people  shall be  my people, And your God, my God. Ruth 1:16 The many years of history you shared with your son have built the relationship you have with him now. The years were full of happy, caring and loving experiences, as well as hard experiences. You went through them together. You also had misunderstandings the two of you wrestled with and resolved. That combination fostered the strong, trusting relationship you both enjoy. You know his heart and he knows yours. Communication at this point in your lives is easy.  Your time with your son's wife is obviously quite a bit shorter and is at least in some part filtered through your son. As much as you may want it, your relationship with her will never be what she has experienced with her own mother. You just don't have that history. Still, your relationship with her ...

Autumn is peeking in my window and while the air is crisp and cool, my heart is warmed at the sight. The beautiful trees that have been slow to cooperate with the calendar show vibrant colors that contradict the loss of life within. It is the rhythm of the seasons and it reminds us that our sovereign God controls the universe.  There is a rest in Autumn unlike the other seasons. It is as if the activity of summer stops to regroup and shift gears, carving out a time of quiet that is full of expectation. The stores declare that Christmas is nudging its way in, but we refuse to listen. We need the sabbath of Autumn. The change in season doesn't last long but if we want it, Autumn offers a time of relative calm, and renewed perspective. The season itself prompts us to look outward, beyond ourselves, and forward to all that is coming. The sights and smells stir up the heart's memory and bend us toward thankfulness. One of the constants in our life, no matter how we have celebrated i...