“...Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer…
he shall be to you a restorer of life...
Ruth 4:14-15
For quite some time, Paul and I have been in the season of life where we pass along our cast-off cell phones to one of the grandkids. Recently however, we took advantage of a trade-in offer and that worked too. We performed the required factory reset, sent off the device, and received a substantial rebate.
Regardless of where your retired tech goes, factory resets are essential. For one thing, you don’t want to pass along your personal information; but also devices begin to act sort of worn-down after years of use. Often a phone or laptop has simply experienced too much life, collected too much clutter, and it really needs to be wiped clean. Sometimes people also experience too much life, collect too many complications, operate with too much confusion, and begin to feel worn-down by everything that has happened — they need a reset.
This is how I see Naomi, in the book of Ruth. From the opening verses, we learn that Naomi suffered through too much life, too much tragedy, and too much grief — she was no longer functioning at full capacity. It all started with a dramatic migration away from her home. Then came the death of her husband, followed by the unthinkable — the death of both of her sons. By the time she finally made her way back to Judah, she was a shadow of her former self. Ruth 1:19-20 tells us her friends no longer recognized her: The women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara (which means bitter). If there was ever a soul who needed a factory reset in order to function properly, it was Naomi.
Do you ever wish you could somehow do a factory reset on your life? Maybe you haven’t experienced the drama that Naomi did, but you still sense you’re just not functioning as well as you once did — as well as you could. One of the nuggets of inspiration we acquire through the short book of Ruth is the amazing restoration of Naomi’s life. Just read that theme verse (above) again — God took her from no sons and bitterness, to having a grandson who would be a restorer of life. That’s what factory resets do — they restore things!
Naomi’s reset didn’t happen overnight, however, it wouldn’t have happened at all if not for one important choice she made. Ruth 2:7 tells us “...she set out from the place where she was…and went on the way to return to the land of Judah.” I’ve often paraphrased this verse as follows: she pointed her feet in God’s direction and started moving.
As for us, whenever we feel we’re not functioning as well as we could, the first critical step is to humble ourselves and point our feet in God’s direction. I believe He will respond and begin that process of restoration in our lives. It might not be an overnight change — but God is in the business of restoring, and step-by-step He is a restorer of life for us.
As a personal update, I had a very successful surgery last week and I’ve now checked off two of the three major components of treatment. I’ve joked with my friends that I only have radiation left (in November) and my body should be completely reset to factory specs. Thanks again for your prayers and your support!
My Love & Blessings,
Sue
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