He Cares

Finished studying the book of Ruth this week. Good exegesis, but personally I found it bordering on the stuff romance books are made of... you know, widowed woman who "just so happened" to glean at elibigle bachelor's field, caught his attention, found out he was a kinsman-redeemer (a relative who in ancient Israel was responsible for the welfare of his relatives), hatched a plan to propose and eventually married him. Ahem.

In a nutshell, that's how God providentially cares for his people (in this case Ruth, as a foreigner, didn't even qualify). But He cared nevertheless. Makes me think of how His grace had worked and provided for my life, even at times when I didn't acknowledge or wanted Him to be around.

I do see Him around, though. In many instances in my life. One of them is during dinner. Mealtimes can tell you a lot about a family. I never really had that chance while growing up coz our family stayed apart - I was at the babysitter's, my brother with granny, dad was away for very long periods and my mom worked till late. Oh, we had meals together during festive seasons, and even that felt wierd. Made me long for my companion the tv (or books) instead.

But a strange (and wonderful) thing happened 2 years ago. My brother and his small family moved back with my parents and we started to have meals together, every night. In the beginning it was surreal. Here we are, all grown up and doing things we didn't get to enjoy while we were kids. Of course it was awkward at first, conversations were stilted and uncomfortable, but after two years, this practice slowly crept into our lives and took root.

Now conversation flows freely (most times), and dinnertime has become the most important part of the day where everyone pauses to thank God for His blessings. God is honoured at the dinner table. Guests who eat with us are are often blessed, even as it is our privilege to have them.

What a contrast! In the place of swearing, yelling and violence, we now have peace, kinship and care. Our family is the first amongst both maternal and paternal clans to experience this kind of goodness. My take? God's invisible hand has been working behind the scenes all these while after all...