CHAPTER 1

Finding Purposein Tragedy

The Power of Choice

Choice is the most powerful weapon we could ever wield.It can protect us or destroy us. When used wisely thisweapon can set us on the path to destiny and when used unwiselyit can cause us to encounter destruction. The choices we maketoday can cause all of our peace of mind to be swallowed upin darkness like yesterday's noon or it can erase all of the painof our past. Today's choices possess the power to influence allof our tomorrows. God never took the power of choice awayfrom us but granted us the privilege to choose as we wish. Infact, where there is no privilege to exercise choice there is noreal opportunity to experience true freedom. Yet, the weapon ofchoice when not wisely wielded will deprive us of the freedomwe so deeply desire. For this reason we must make meaningfulchoices prayerfully and thoughtfully.

I wrote this book specifically for women but its content isrelevant for both women and men. Whilst both women andmen may encounter similar situations, the female specie tend totake a longer time to recover from the negative impact of theirencounter and are more likely to succumb to the feeling of beingpowerless.

Moreover, through out our lives we will encounter harsh,undesirable situations which will attempt to rob us of thepleasantness of life and present the façade that we are powerless.But regardless of how dark and dismal the situation may lookwe can emerge triumphantly if we understand how powerfulwe are for in us lies the power to make choices inspite of whatwe go through. I consider choice a weapon since it is a God-givenprivilege with which we are always armed. The privilege ofmaking choices empowers us to be effective.

For that reason I consider it necessary that we take a closer lookat the life of this young woman Ruth. Her story is recorded in abook in the Bible named after her. She entered the pages of theBible in the midst of what I would consider not only unpleasantcircumstances but great tragedy. Yet she was able to conclude thechronicle of her life triumphantly. She completely transformedher life into something beautiful by simply making wise choicesand left to hang in the halls of time a beautiful masterpiece, aplace for us to gather around, to stare, admire and discuss.

Ruth

And the servant set over the reapers answered, she is theMoabitish girl who came back with Naomi from the country ofMoab. And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after thereapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued fromearly morning until now, except when she rested a little while inthe house. Ruth 2:6-7

Ruth, a woman of Moab, married into a family who had left theirhomeland, Israel, in search of a better life. This move was inducedby a famine which had devoured the bounty of their land. Thehead of this family Elimelech accompanied by his wife Naomiand their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, headed for and settled inthe Country of Moab. During the course of time Elimelech died.Naomi and her two sons were left to continue their lives. Chilionand Mahlon married two young women of Moab. Chilion wasmarried to Orpah and Mahlon to Ruth. After years of marriage,the undesirable happened; death visited this family again. Thistime it took both Chilion and Mahlon, leaving three grieving,devastated women shattered and alone.

When we come to the end of ourselves, God will come to rescueus. In the midst of tragedy and grief, Naomi got good news.The Lord had blessed His people by giving them good cropsagain. So she decided to return home to Israel. Accompanied byher daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth, Naomi was homewardbound; however, on the way Naomi perhaps realized that shehad nothing to offer these two young women. Of course she hadgood news about God blessing His people with good crops backhome. She was returning to her home country, but these two girlswere about to become foreigners in a strange land. Naomi desiredfor them to have a secure future, but had no substance to offerthem, nor any guarantee that once they got to Israel life wouldbe good to them. So she told them to return to their mothers'house and she blessed them, Ruth 1:8,9; "And Naomi said to hertwo daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house.The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the deadand with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in thehouse of her husband."

In the aftermath of our negative experiences, like the experiencesof these two young women, we also find ourselves presentedwith suggestions and confronted by choices. We must admitthat making choices is not always simple, particularly afterexperiencing circumstances as difficult as that of Orpah andRuth. In this saga of Naomi, Orpah and Ruth, Naomi madeone suggestion to the two young women accompanying her theyhowever, made completely different choices. Their story recordsfor us that with a little more persuasion from Naomi, Orpahconceded. But Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:11-14"But Naomi saidTurn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Have I yetsons in my womb that may become your husbands? Turn back,my daughters, go; for I am too old to have a husband. If I shouldhave a husband tonight and bear sons, would you wait till theyare grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, mydaughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lordhad gone out against me".

Those factors that influence our choices would determinewhether we encounter triumph or spiral downwards inunchartered dimensions of difficulties. Like Orpah and Ruthour choices are influenced either by practical factors or spiritualenlightenment.

Orpah's choice was influence by Naomi's suggestion. Naomi'ssuggestion was based on practical factors which gained itsstrength from the superficial appearances of that which seemedbest. Naomi was concerned that she was not at the age to bearmore sons to marry these young ladies as her culture allowed.Thus, she was concerned about their future, particularly theirfuture with her, an old woman.

We cannot deny the fact that there are times when it is absolutelynecessary that we make choices based on the practical in orderto maximize our rewards. However, it is important that weknow when to base our choices on the practical and when notto. Oftentimes, people's suggestions as reflected in Naomi's canbe based purely on practical factors. Whilst the intent of theirhearts is good, their overall view of our future is limited. Whenwe in turn make important choices based only on suggestionsmade by people with good intention the degree of triumph weexperience would be limited. This is reflected in the fact thatafter Orpah returned to her mother's house we never heard ofher again. On the other hand, Ruth's name was fixed amongstsome outstanding people. In fact she was one of the few womenlisted in the genealogy of Jesus...