Are you a woman blessed with the gift of a wonderful mother-in-law? We can hardly think of a more important relationship. Through the ages, this mentoring friendship has sealed families and nurtured them. Likewise, we easily see the pain inflicted when this relationship isn’t good.

 

In the Old Testament, we read of a really remarkable mother-in-law. She showed great kindness to a young woman at just the right moment.

 

After returning home to Bethlehem after a famine is over, Naomi wants the best for her young daughter-in-law, Ruth, whose husband has died. Although she must have longed for security herself and companionship, Naomi encourages Ruth to marry Boaz. Eventually, Ruth has a son, Obed, who would become the grandfather of King David!

 

Ruth 1:22 says, “So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.”

 

Naomi’s unselfish act, her encouragement to the vulnerable Ruth, is the model for all such relationships. It’s intentionally about the other person. It’s the story of a woman mentoring and loving another she sees as a daughter.

 

So how will your mother-in-law's story be recorded? Have you ever thought about that? How will the women in your family remember you?

 

Let’s pray.

 

Lord, people are watching us, and they’re watching how we treat others. Nowhere is that more important than in our own homes, and in our own families. Help us think of others before we think of ourselves. In Jesus’ name, amen.