I love the story of Ruth and Boaz in the Old Testament. Ruth was a young widow with no children and followed her mother-in-law into a foreign country. She was poor and wasn’t afraid to work hard. Soon she caught the eye of a man who was related to her husband’s family, a completely unplanned meeting when she went to his field to follow the harvesters to gather leftover grain. Eventually, he makes arrangements to marry her. And here’s the interesting part, she had a child who was the great-grandfather to King David–and eventually, ancestor to Jesus!

Before all this happened, though, Ruth made some difficult choices. When her mother-in-law, Naomi, decided to return to her own country, Ruth chose to go with her. That meant leaving her family, language, customs, and gods. She must have believed in the true God. Naomi was grieving–she’d first lost her husband, then one son, and then her second son. Ruth chose to go with a very sad Naomi.

When they get to Naomi’s town, Bethlehem, she meets Boaz, a relative to her late husband’s family. The story is a beautiful one about how God cares for those who love and follow him. See the book of Ruth

Often the passage in Ruth is used in marriage vows even though the vow spoken in Ruth was from Ruth to Naomi:

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17

It’s a beautiful passage of commitment. Marriage is just that, and often when we’re young we don’t realize how encompassing our vows  really are. It’s kind of like the choice Ruth made when she decided to follow her mother in law to a foreign land.

  • she left her family
  • her language
  • her customs

We leave our nuclear family to establish our own family. We leave our familiar customs and make new ones with our husband or wife. Sometimes we might be surprised that it’s sad for us to leave those things behind. It’s a good thing to leave those familiar customs behind and make new ones, but it isn’t always easy.

In one week, my third granddaughter will commit her life to a husband. Annabel, remember, it will be good. It will be hard at times. It is honored by God when you take vows to Andy.

I’m not sure which vows you plan to use, but here are the traditional ones:

“I, _____, take thee, _____, to be my wedded wife (husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

I pray Annabel and Andy, you will have a long life together. That you will blend into a beautiful new family. That both of you will honor your vows until one of you leaves this earth. It is beautiful and hard and wonderful. God bless you both.

So Annabel, you aren’t Ruth, and Andy, you aren’t Boaz, but you are two young people with stars in your eyes, with great plans for your future. May you be blessed as you take this very important step one week from today.

“Lord, please bless Annabel and Andy as they take their vows. Be with them as they establish their life together. With You alongside them, they will be fine. I ask they always keep You first in their lives and the rest will be smooth sailing. The love of a lifetime. In the name of Jesus, Amen.”

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