Leaning Into The Wind (book club/Bible study notes, chapter 2)

AUTHOR NOTES

Do you clutch when you're filling out a form and can't put a check mark on the Married box anymore? I know! I was the same way! I wanted to shake whoever made up that stupid paper! That's one small example of the way our personal identity is impacted by loss. And it's an example of the way one loss is like a storm with many whipping winds and factors.

It seems so simple to outsiders---her husband died. Scripture stated it so simply for Naomi---she was left (Ruth 1:3). But let's put ourselves in her shoes as a woman in an ancient, foreign society. She was left in a vulnerable position! For example, without a husband she had no status, protection or place in society. Her financial security took a hit; her daily schedule of revolving around her husband's needs vanished; his comforting arms, companionship and conversation were gone... Think of the roles as lover, friend, advisor, car mechanic, etc; a husband fills today. Loss hasn't changed much for widows has it?

Wallopped with these gale force winds, it takes skillful sailing to manage the gusts of grief. And I don't know how to sail, do you? Yet, the Holy Spirit, too, is described as a wind, and he moves within this storm. Let's open our hearts and lean into him.   

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(chapter 2 of Postcards, and Ruth 1:1-9) Naomi’s husband died, and then her two sons died. What huge losses! But what were some of her other, less obvious losses? If women were to analyze their own tragedy, and see it sorted out into the multiple winds of loss, would it become any more or less manageable? How does Matthew 5:4 apply to loss?

PRAYER

Dear Lord, I'm going to lean into the wind and grieve over my many losses. I'm going to mourn, for your Word assures me that mourners will be comforted. Help me learn all I can about navigating this new life. Eventually I know I will discover the wind of your Holy Spirit ministering to me. Amen