"I hope to continue to please you, sir,’ she replied. ‘ You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.” At mealtime Boaz called to her, ‘Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.’ So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over ... So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket ... ‘Where did you gather all this grain today?’ Naomi asked. ‘Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!’”
-Ruth 2:13-19
I wonder if Boaz knew when he laid eyes on Ruth that someday she would be his wife. I can imagine her in that field the first time he saw her. Dressed in nothing fashionable but practical for a hard day of work ahead.
Long tendrils of dark hair escaping from the head covering she wore, her brow glistening as the sunlight hit her face from the heat of the day. Hands gentle, but marred by hard labor. Eyes marked with determination. Weary, but persistent. Resolved to do her part. Her beauty went beyond physical and was woven deep into the fibers of who she was on the inside. Such beauty was hard to find.
She was a hard worker. She was kind and honorable, yet she was unmarried, uncared for and striving to do what was necessary to survive. At least that’s how I imagine she was.
If it were me in that field, the description may have varied slightly and sounded a little more like this:
Oversized Walmart running shorts with paint stains made in no intentional order graced her figure. A full-covering loose tank top sagged down her torso drenched with sweat from the hot day. Armpit sweat rings added a darker hue of color to each of her sides.
A navy colored Patagonia ball-cap crowned her head, also drenched in sweat, looking as if it were decades old. Her hair hung in a long braid through the back of her hat and down her back, looking as if it hadn’t been combed in weeks.
Her face was beautiful, but exhausted. Her hands were torn and aching. Her nose covered in freckles. Her entire demeanor looked as if she was about to pass out! Worn running shoes graced her feet with soles that were clearly detached from the shoe itself. Well-loved perhaps? Maybe.
She tried to “look” as if she knew what she was doing, but clearly, she didn’t. Besides her highly impractical outfit, the woman looked as if she hadn’t harvested a grain of wheat in her life, because she hadn’t and she had NO IDEA what she was doing.
But there was a determination in her eyes that couldn’t be mistaken.
Deep down inside, she was willing to do what was necessary to survive. Sound a bit more realistic? For me, yes!
The Bible tells us that Boaz noticed Ruth. This tells me that even though Boaz was a wealthy
landowner, and in old Jewish manuscripts named “the prince of the people,” he still knew those within his care. He knew his people. Their faces. Their workmanship. Their lives.
He knew the moment someone new came into view. He took the time to notice.
Many times, I’m too busy to notice new things around me. Too busy to take time out and admire the little differences all around me in the people God has placed in my path.
But not Boaz. He noticed Ruth. He asked his harvesters about Ruth’s life, and in return he heard the testimony of who she was and what she had done for Naomi. Ruth, driven by her love for Naomi, stepped up and took the weight and responsibility that should have rested on a son’s shoulders onto herself.
Her kindness had been a game-changer in his mind, and now he offered his kindness in return. Not only did he pull her aside and allow her to eat with his laborers, but he spoke kindly to her. He asked her to stay in his field so that he could provide and protect her from any harm that may have resulted in another field.
I don’t know if he knew when he offered her food and grain what the end result would be. Isn’t that the case for many of us?
The moment we choose kindness, we may not see the full picture. We just know that it is the right thing to do, so we do it.
Months later, Ruth would lay at his feet and he would redeem her.
The kindness you show others will never return to you void.
Kindness, however, is a choice and there will always be a cost involved. The more you choose kindness the easier it becomes the next time, until eventually it’s a habit you form and a character quality you possess. What simple act can you do today to show kindness to another?
"At times you must let kindness interrupt your day, your schedule, your plans and your life, otherwise you’ll miss it."
Photo Credit: Maël BALLAND
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