It was the humblest of work.
Gathering.
She had nothing, except another person to care for. Someone she had grown to love. God had placed this dear one in her life; she was doing her best to follow through on her vow.
And so she gathered.
She found a field where the staff was kind enough to let her collect whatever remnants there were. She kept to herself, her head bent and eyes scouring the ground for precious grain. This was her new reality now, her way of providing for their makeshift family.
Unbeknownst to her, what she thought was a random piece of land really wasn’t. She was gathering on the land belonging to her family redeemer. He recognized their connection before she did.
Boaz watched as Ruth gathered. His heart was so moved by her diligence and sacrifice that he ordered his staff to purposely drop some their grain in order to help her collection grow. This accidental worker was rewarded at the end of her day.
By the end of her day, Ruth had a lot more than she had started. Though she had not packed a noon meal, she was fed. She had a basket full of grain to take home. She had a heart full at the kindness of this Boaz. Security was gained, as she was offered a job in those same fields. Her needs were met that day and onward.
Because she went to gather.
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I did something a little different with my Five-Minute Friday post today. Feel free to give this a try. We gather over here.