The story of Ruth and Naomi reminds us of 2 of God's eternal truths:
* We need each other - especially across generational lines. Ruth needed Naomi's wisdom and maturity. Naomi needed Ruth's courage, determination, and flexibility.
* Throughout the Bible, God uses "the outsider" as part of God's plan to save humanity. We should expect the unexpected because God is full of surprises.
So two sets of questions for this week.
1. Remember a person who was older than you that made a difference in your life. How did she or he help you to broaden your horizons or turn a "no" into a "yes"? How are you passing on that blessing to the next generation?
2. When have you felt like an "outsider"? When have you experienced grace through an "outsider"?
1. For the purposes of this question, I would say my grandmother - Agnes Miller - has made the biggest difference in my life. She taught me the gift of "presence". She taught me the importance of taking time to visit with people, making random calls to tell people how much they mean to you, and attending events that are important to others whether you like the event or not. Being there doesn't take money, talent, or energy. Being there simply takes your time and that time is priceless to those around you. There is no doubt she was a powerful influence over my decision to choose education as my profession. Because of this decision, I get to practice her truths daily with our leaders of tomorrow. It feels good to pay forward!
ReplyDelete2. One of the requirements of my doctoral program at Ohio State was to take a few courses outside of the College of Education. It made sense for me to take a political science course. I had taken a political science course as an undergraduate and I do watch CNN on a regular basis, so how hard could this possibly be? Needless to say, I was in way over my head by the end of the first class. As the class progressed I finally mustered up enough courage to answer one of the professor's questions. When I finished, the professor turned my response back to the class. As a teacher, I can assure you this is never a good sign. The class pretty much agreed that I butchered the interpretation, however, they liked my connection to public education and this caused them to consider another angle. They argued amongst themselves for the next ten minutes. In an odd way, I felt good as an outsider to make a small contribution. After all, don't we all want to feel as though we are needed in this life? As an outsider I was affirmed by this group and loved every minute of it!