Why the name?

My name is Ruth, named after Ruth in the Bible. All seven of my parents’ children were named after Bible characters. I have an acute fondness for names. I believe a mother is inspired to gift us with names that will guide us at sometime in the future. I myself, am especially connected to the story of Ruth. Having grown up Latter Day Saint (LDS), I was an outsider when I married my Catholic husband. So too was Ruth, a Moabite, when she married a Jewish man, which is frowned upon by Jewish law. When Ruth’s first husband dies, she has the opportunity to return to her people, but she chooses to stay with her Mother-n-law, Naomi.

“Wherever you go, I will go;
and wherever you live, I will live.
Your people shall be my people,
and your God shall be my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there shall I be buried.”
Ruth 1:16-17

Although these words are meant for Naomi, they speak to me as a wife. Ruth’s story is one of great love and devotion both as daughter-n-law and wife. Ruth later marries Boaz, a prosperous Jewish man. Ruth meets Boaz in his fields where she would glean the leftover wheat to receive a small payment. He is taken by her beauty and kindness to her mother-n-law. Although it was not the custom for such high ranking men to marry poor widows such as Ruth, she won him over. I do not think that it is by mistake that God chooses a foreigner to become a part of his plan and Ruth becomes the great grandmother of Jesus.We never know where we will meet God and his plan. I like to believe that where we meagerly glean goodness and love, is where he will meet us.

Just as Ruth found much Grace among the family of Boaz, so have I found Grace in the Catholic church. I’d like to say that I had some big aha moment that made me convert to the Catholic faith, but my story is only one of simple love and devotion to my husband. I first entered the church to unite my family in one religion, to make rules and traditions cohesive. And this is where God has met me, within the church I have found much Grace and I have grown to love the Catholic faith tremendously. In this blog,”Fields of Boaz”, you will find the story of this Grace.

I would love to hear stories of how your name has inspired you in some way. Please share how you got your name and what inspiration it brings.

God bless you all, and may God’s fields always bring you peace.