Faith Steps In (chapter 8)

From now to Thanksgiving, each weekday I'll post a short excerpt from my book along with some questions to ponder. These questions correspond with a private Facebook group I'm facilitating, and will also be helpful to book clubs and widows groups which are going through the book. Most importantly, I hope you'll benefit too. The Bible provides a light for our path, and I believe the book of Ruth was written especially for widows. Out of everything, Ruth was the best and most helpful resource for me when I was widowed.

I hope these glimpses at Ruth and Postcards From The Widows' Path will be a source of help and strength for you. If you'd care to comment, please click the comments at the end of this post. It's always great to hear from readers. ♥ ferree

AUTHOR NOTES
Read Ruth 1:16-18

Have you ever compared yourself to someone in the Bible? Their lives are given as lessons for us, so if we put ourselves in their shoes, sometimes we learn about ourselves and ways we can respond to God's work in our hearts.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(Chapter 8 of Postcards, and Ruth 1:10-22)

Use the sketches below to talk about how much of yourself you see in Naomi and Ruth.

Naomi: Trampled and beaten up by life, she thought God was punishing her. Still, she wanted to go back to the Promised Land because she had heard God was visiting his people with food. Like the prodigal son of the New Testament, she knew life would be better in her Father’s house, even if only to get a decent meal. Maybe she even wanted to "tell God a thing or two."

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being "totally different" and 10 being "most similar," circle the number which is closest to how much like Naomi are you in your relationship with God?

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

Ruth: She also suffered loss, but where Naomi saw punishment, Ruth saw evidence of God’s existence. She had never encountered the living God, and her response was like parable of the man in the New Testament who found a pearl of great price and sold everything he had just to own it.

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being "totally different" and 10 being "most similar," circle the number which shows how much like Ruth are you in your relationship with God?

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

PRAYER

Dear God,

It certainly feels like I’ve lost my life, sometimes like I’ve lost my faith. Am I responding more like Ruth or more like Naomi? Thank you for loving them both and for loving me too, no matter what.
Amen