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The Aftermath
by Sharon Anderson, Bachelor of Divinity Second Year
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Pardon for sin and a peace
that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! (“Great is thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Chrisholm)
More faithful than ever is the One who has called you into his refuge, the One who is able to keep you from fall- ing and the One who has paved the path before you, mighty over all the storm, the Prince of Peace . Jesus is his name, the great “I Am .”
The times that we are living in at present have definitely proved to be a pivotal moment for all of us across the globe . There is no one who has remained untouched from these tur- bulent circumstances . Death and de- struction has left our hearts parched and our minds wondering to know the presence and will of God in it . Though these events approach us like a storm, what destroys us and bring us down to dust is the aftermath of the storm, those consequences, and after-effects that testify to the intensity of the storm .
Scripture talks about such like oc- currences and the people who fought and survived not only the event like
storm that hit for a moment but also dealt with THE AFTERMATH .
In the book of Ruth, Naomi is the mother-in-law of Ruth . This lovely ac- count of Naomi does not start like any other happy story . She was forced to live and survive in a foreign land, as her own country was famine stricken . In the an- guish of pain, the only silver lining she had was her family, a good husband, two sons and their wives . The family be- came the only source of joy and sanity she had in her life . She had no idea that this was not to last forever and within a blow of destiny, she lost it all . The loss of her husband and both sons changed the course of direction for her life . The loneliness that surrounded her made her believe that there was nothing good left in her life that could help her build again or restore that which was lost . Her immediate response was bitterness, and urged the only two people that were left in her life to leave . She insisted Ruth and Orpah, her two Moabite daughters-in- law to leave her, as she had no hope of restoration of any kind in her life . But Ruth remained .
Naomi leaves with Ruth and returns to Bethlehem to find refuge, the place she left with family, now as an individ- ual . Naomi, whose vision was blurred by her pain found herself unable to own her identity in her name “Naomi” meaning “pleasant”, and wished rather to be called “Mara”, meaning “bitter” .
A pivotal moment occurred when Naomi recalls the presence of one of her relatives named Boaz from her hus- band’s side . Boaz was a man of stand- ing . Ruth gleans in his harvest fields and finds favor and a husband . Now Naomi,