Call me Mara
Today's focusNaomi, a widow who has also lost her sons, returns home and tells the women of Bethlehem to call her Mara, 'bitter', because she went out full and came back empty; Ruth refuses to leave her side.
Read
15And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 16And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 18When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 19So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? 20And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
Reflection
When Naomi returns to Bethlehem, she does not hide her heavy heart. Having lost her husband and both her sons, she stands before her old neighbors changed by grief. She asks them to "call me Mara," a name meaning bitter, because she feels "the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly" with her. Naomi honestly describes her life as a journey from being "full" to being "empty." If you are carrying the weight of loss today, know that your pain is seen. Like Naomi, you may feel that your life has been stripped of its sweetness, and it is okay to be honest about that emptiness.
Yet, even in Naomi’s deepest sorrow, she is not truly alone. Though she feels the Lord has "afflicted" her, Ruth stands by her with a devotion that refuses to be shaken. Ruth promises, "whither thou goest, I will go," pledging a loyalty that only death could part. Even when Naomi feels empty, a new kind of companionship is walking right beside her. God provides presence through others, even in the middle of our most bitter seasons.
AI-written reflection on the passage above. Let Scripture itself be the main thing.
Reflect
If you could be as honest with God as Naomi was, what would you tell him about your loss today?
Pray
Lord, you know how full my life once was and how empty it feels now. I bring you my honest grief, even my bitterness. Thank you for the Ruths you send to walk beside me, and help me not to walk alone.