Ruth 4:13, 16  ¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.  ¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.

I have very special memories of a night two years ago.  It was a very special time for our family – and particularly for my wife Donna.  We were at the home of Michael (our youngest son) and Stephanie to celebrate the 2^nd birthday of their daughter Anabelle.  Of our four sons, three were there with their families (4 of 5 grandchildren).

What a delightful time it was!  The air was filled with laughter and the joy of being together.  One memory I will always cherish is when Donna, Stephanie and Anabelle held hands in a circle and began to move and sing.  But then Anabelle stopped.  She saw Becca (then 10) sitting off to the side – so she went over and took Becca’s hand and brought her into the circle.

As they began again, Anabelle noticed Gabi (then 8) sitting watching.  So she stopped again and went over and took Gabi’s hand and brought her into the circle.  Once again they began to sing and move but then Anabelle saw Fabi and went over and got her and brought her to join the circle.  Then all six of them sang and danced together.  What a blessing to watch a 2 year old little girl include the others as she did.

Sitting watching them dance and sing and laugh, I couldn’t help but think of the times over the past few years when I’ve held Donna in my arms to comfort her.  We were far away from family and we would hear of parties and special occasions and she would weep at the pain of not being there with them.  While we knew we were where we needed to be, there was still the pain of separation.  It was real and we dealt with it the best we could.

This morning I thought of the joy that Naomi must have felt when they placed the baby Obed in her arms.  She was now a grandma – and got to help care for Ruth and Boaz’s little one.  Family together – what a treasure!  There is such richness there to be cultivated and enjoyed.  Please remember to make the time to enjoy your family.  And if there are difficulties in relationships there, seek the Lord to transform them. 

Note: Friday night we all got to celebrate Anabelle’s 4th birthday!