31 Beads

The Story Behind “The Ruth Bracelet”

While designing the Ruth bracelet, two themes jumped out at me. Since I couldn’t decide between the two, I have decided to share them both and let the bracelet buyer choose how to wear or gift it.

1st theme: Ruth – The friend of all friends!

She laid down her own desires to meet the needs of her mother-in- law and friend Naomi. She had two wide-open doors that she could walk through, yet out of love and loyalty she chose the uncomfortable path.

If you have ever been blessed with a kind of friend who would drop everything to be with you in time of need, then you know the rare blessing of a friend like Ruth.

I wear the Ruth bracelet as a reminder to be this kind of friend. I have also gifted this bracelet to ladies in my life who “love like Ruth”.

2nd theme – Ruth waited so well in the face of adversity.

I am not very good at waiting. I finish one thing and jump right into planning the next. The last few years of my life have felt like they were in slow- motion as the Lord stripped me of my self-reliance and taught me to wait patiently on Him.

Ruth had just lost her husband and now she was with her mother-in-law in a land of very little opportunity with no job, no means of provision, and no other family. It’s a safe bet to say that most of us would do what Orpah did at this point. We’d give Naomi a quick kiss on the cheek and run home. If we didn’t run, then you might find us ugly-crying under a juniper tree and feeling understandably sorry for ourselves. We might even look right over the leftovers in the harvested fields and continue our journey on an empty stomach.

But RUTH looked out and saw substance. She didn’t see “little” – she saw enough. And she allowed the enough to lead her right into abundance! If she had moped about, feeling like a martyr for sticking it out with Naomi, she may very well have walked right passed the leftovers. BUT her eyes were wide open. She saw substance and she gleaned from the leftovers in the fields while she waited.

So my encouragement to you today is “glean while you wait”. There is enough to bless and sustain you where you are now. Take your eyes off what you don’t yet have and glean substance from the treasures surrounding you. With that type of perspective and contentment you are bound to walk into even more unexpected blessings than you could ever imagine. Don’t overlook the fields where you are now. God left treasures there for YOU on purpose, so glean abundantly while you wait. He will sustain you!

Psalms 37:25
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

https://31beadsbyrachel.etsy.com

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