This morning during Lexio Divina, the word that popped out at me was “man.” It was a negative trigger. In an instant, my soul was flooded with angry thoughts and bitter feelings toward “man.” “Man” had hurt me badly, done me terrible wrong, abused me, used me up and threw me out like a worn out, overused rag left only with holes and raggedy fringes. And without a thought or care of all that I had given him. That is what “man” was to me!
But the man this passage was
talking about was a man we women all love. Boaz! I felt resentment toward him
because he belonged to a sex whose power could crush a woman. Take a
breath, Hyde. Smell the coffee, cool the coffee.
This man took notice of an
outsider, a despised foreigner who was poor and vulnerable with two mouths to
feed. Yes, he did have the power men have that can crush a woman’s life. And he
had the position to do it. But he used his power to give life, not to take it.
And the natural, down-to-earth, healthy response is, “Blessed be the man who
took notice of you!”
“May he be blessed by the Lord,
whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead,” Naomi said to Ruth.
Boaz lived in the character and the blessing of the Lord.
And then the Lord turned my
thoughts toward “man” again. Who have been the other men in my life? The ones
who have used their power to give me life? I had to think. Well, let’s see.
There was Dave. And there was Rand. And Conrad and David. There was John, Nick,
Will, Josh, Steve, Dick, Joe. There were all the men I met at Alongside, and
the men at Fairhaven who cared for me; my brother who opened his home to me; my
Uncle who called me faithfully; my cousins; and all the men in the past still
within reach should I seek them out. All these good men throughout my life who
have taken notice of me! My soul was flooded again, this time with images of
precious memories and endearing thoughts of each and all of these men. My eyes
crinkled and sparkled with joy! My lips curved into a smile. My mouth parted,
and I was laughing!
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