My Field of Faith

While it is important to never go looking to insert our agendas into Scripture, there are certainly myraid applications that can be made. I thought of this yesterday while teaching Ruth as an "extraordinary woman" to my middle school discipleship group.
Ruth was a single woman, recently widowed. She faithfully followed her mother-in-law to Israel and took it upon herself to try to support the two of them in a female-unfriendly world. She was faithful. Faithful to her family, faithful to her God, and faithful to be a hard worker. She was where she was supposed to be, when she was supposed to be there, just being faithful to do what God wanted her to do...
And then Boaz spotted her in his fields. Boaz noticed not how beautiful she was, or how funny she was, but that she was working faithfully. And then he heard about what she'd done-- how she had stayed with Naomi and moved to Israel. He was smitten. Sure, he needed some prodding to actually seal the deal, but what struck me was the simple logic of this love story: Ruth was faithfully working, serving her family and her Lord-- not trying to find a husband to support her. And Boaz noticed her because of this, not because of how thin and stylish she was, or how entrancing her personality was.
Application for me, single woman who loves the Lord and wants to get married some day? Do what God has called me to do right now. Faithfully serve him. Don't seek out a husband. Because the right one will find me someday, right where I am, doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. And he will notice my love for the Lord, and that is what he'll love. And that is why I'll love him.