It Still Doesn't Seem Real.

It’s been 8 months since Carrie has been with the Lord and I find myself at times still thinking, “How can this be the reality?”  We were in the prime of our lives and had many things mapped out and excited about.  But then, the Sovereign God rewrote our story.  She is with Him and I am here.  When you’ve lived one way for enough years and you have a vision of what you want the rest of the journey to look like, it takes a long period of adjustment to the “new life” the Lord is writing.  There are many times, especially in the mornings after a vivid dream, that it just doesn’t seem real.  And yet it is.

Recently I came across a devotional that was very encouraging to me.  It was a case study on Ruth and the rewriting of her own story.  The book on her life is only 4 short chapters, early in the Bible.  But what it lacks in prominence, it more than makes up for in significance!

Ruth was from pagan ancestry, and she married into a Jewish family that had migrated to her country from Bethlehem because of a famine.  Then the unthinkable happened as Ruth became a widow at a young age, before having any children.  (For time, I won’t retell the whole story, but I would strongly encourage you to read it for yourself – specifically through the lens of a grieving young widow.)  Her mother-in-law, Naomi, decided to return home after losing her husband and 2 sons.  Ruth vows to go with her while still grieving, likely scared, and really has no hope for her future in a foreign land.  But God…  He had a plan for Ruth (and all of Israel) that was already written out.  A new country, a certain field, and new opportunities ready to take shape – all from the wisdom of God.  Fast forward a few more years and Ruth is remarried and has a son named Obed, who has a son named Jesse, who has a son named David, who would become a king.  

Imagine, a young woman working through grief and wondering about her future, becomes the great-grandmother of a king – and an ancestor of the King of Kings! 

It’s easy to read Ruth’s story and conclude, “it must not have been that bad for her”.  After all, her biography is summed up in four short chapters.  Yet in reality this short book covers many years of her life in which she waited, worked, grieved, and trusted the God of Israel her in-laws told her about.  And, in the end her life and lineage were greater than anything she could have possibly imagined.  But God…  

So, what does this mean for me?  Just that what seems a rewrite for me and Carrie was God’s plan all along.  We made our plans, but He had a whole other set of plans.  And though I don’t understand the purpose of it, I will keep waiting, working, grieving, and trusting – knowing the Lord has a future for me and my family that is greater than anything I could imagine.  

As someone once told me, “We get all this, and Heaven too!”

How about you?  Has the Lord done a rewrite in your own story?  How did you feel about it?  What surprising things have come from it?