Today we're talking about Ruth Chapter 3. It begins with (what I think) is a terrible plan, involves a deeply awkward conversation, and somehow ends up teaching us something about hope.

A grieving mother-in-law tells her widowed daughter-in-law to get dressed up, sneak into a threshing floor in the middle of the night, uncover a man's feet while he's sleeping, and wait to see what happens.

If that's not what you remember from Sunday school, you're not alone.

But underneath the strange setting is something interesting. This is a story about risk, security, and what happens when people refuse to become cynical after life has given them every reason to.