The Rewards of Friendship

They encourage us. They laugh with us. They cry with us. They are patient with us. They overlook our faults, yet speak the truth when we need to hear it the most. Friends. My American Heritage Dictionary defines 'friend' as, "A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts; a person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; comrade; one who supports..."
I think about one of the amazing stories of friendship in the Bible, that of Ruth and Naomi. Yes, they were also daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, but their relationship was truly amazing.

Naomi and her family had travelled to the land of Moab due to a famine in their city of Bethlehemjudah. While in the country of Moab, Naomi's sons met and married women from that land. In the course of just a few Bible verses in the book of Ruth, we're told that Naomi's husband and both of her sons die. Talk about overwhelming grief and tragedy!

Naomi decides to go back to her hometown and gives her blessing for both of her daughter-in-laws to remain in their country with their people. One of the women decides to remain, while Ruth makes the shocking decision to go with her mother-in-law. Look at her strong devotion spelled out in Ruth 1:16, "And 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" (KJV). At a time when there was almost nothing worse than being a widow, Ruth chose her friendship with Naomi over the opportunity to stay in her country and remarry.

Back in Bethlehemjudah, things were anything but easy. Ruth proved herself more than a shallow friend. She was willing to glean in the fields in order to provide food for Naomi and herself. She was careful to listen to the advice of her mother-in-law and act on it. I'm sure Ruth was both an encouragement and a blessing in the life of Naomi.

This true story has a fairy-tale ending. Ruth ends up catching the eye of the most eligible bachelor in the city, Boaz. It just so happens that Boaz is also a near kinsman, meaning he has the opportunity to 'redeem,' or marry Ruth. You guessed it! They end up getting married and we're let in on a pretty exciting detail - Boaz and Ruth's son, Obed, ends up being the grandfather of David, the future King of Israel (Ruth 4:22)! God certainly blessed the faithfulness of Ruth's choice to be a good friend to Naomi!

Fast forward to the present. Friendships are just as important, although they may look a little different. Because of the internet, we can establish friendships with those who may be miles, even continents away. Today, I'd like to take the opportunity to honor several of my blogger friends who have been an encouragement to me. Special thanks go to Theresa at Unstoppable Spirit for giving me the Loyal Award!

I am both honored and humbled that so many of you stop by and read my posts on a regular basis. I'd like to pass this award along to the following friends:

Karen Lange @ karenelange.blogspot.com
Raymonde Newman @ everydayiwalkwithyou.blogspot.com
Robyn Campbell @ robyn-campbell.blogspot.com
Tamika @ thewriteworship.blogspot.com

I was further overwhelmed with the, Inspirational Blog Award, from Ellie Kings! Ellie, I'd like to give you an award for talking me through the process of posting these awards to my site!! I think you should write a booklet entitled, "Award Posting for Dummies!" Thanks again.

I would like to pass this award along to the following friends:

Dorothy Adamek @ dorothyadamek.blogspot.com
Heather Sunseri @ heathersunseri.blogspot.com
Jill Kemerer @ jillkemerer.blogspot.com
Jody Hedlund @ jodyhedlund.blogspot.com

Thanks again to all of you who stop by. My prayer is to point you to the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother," the Lord Jesus Christ (Proverbs 18:24)! God bless you!