In the spring of 2021, I was visiting my father in California after he had some complications from a surgery & was in an assisted living facility. I was staying with my sister-in-law and best friend, Linda. As I returned to her home one evening, she was watching an online event called “Faithful,” featuring a number of female Christian artists and writers. I became an instant fan – I downloaded the songs and bought the devotional that accompanied it.

The song that impacted me the most is called “The Detour.” In the book, the chapter that corresponds to that song is called Naomi: God’s Faithfulness in Tragedy. The timing of it all was a gift from God, because only a week after arriving, my father unexpectedly suffered a major stroke the day he was released from the facility and he passed away four days later. I had already made plans to return to my home in Colorado, but this event was definitely a detour I hadn’t planned on.

Naomi, as we read her story in the Old Testament book of Ruth in the Bible, also faced some unexpected detours in her life. There was a famine in Bethlehem where she lived with her husband and two sons. They moved to a foreign land, Moab, and her sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. At some point, her husband and her sons died, leaving Naomi and her daughters-in-law widows.

Naomi longed for a different outcome. She became depressed and even called herself Mara, which means bitter. She decided to go back to Bethlehem when she heard the famine was over. She encouraged Ruth & Orpah to stay in Moab and find new husbands, but Ruth chose to go with Naomi. She didn’t know what the future would hold, but she had learned about Naomi’s God and had transferred her worship from pagan idols to Yahweh. Ruth must have had fears and uncertainties going to a new land with a different language and culture. But Naomi and Ruth would soon discover that God was providing for them and that He had a plan to redeem their sorrows.

Let me tell you a little bit of my story. I met my husband Bruce when I was 19. In 2018, he died due to cancer and I became a widow after 36 years of marriage. During those years, we moved many times to new places because of my husband’s jobs, which was very hard for me because it meant packing all of our belongings, finding a place to live, a new job for me, new schools for our 2 sons, a new church and new friends.

When God’s plan brings us to unexpected places, it can feel like a detour rather than a planned design. I have learned that sometimes the detour is the road we’re meant to travel, even though it was not the journey we had planned. I certainly never thought I would be a widow at age 57 or lose my father within a few years of my husband. But I can testify to the fact that God was with me through all of the hard stuff and He has not abandoned me. He has given me a new purpose in life, expanded my community of friends and provided fellowship and ministry in many new ways and places around the world.

Likewise, for Ruth and Naomi, God did not abandon them in their sorrows. God worked through their detours to advance His plan of redemption. At Naomi’s urging, Ruth went into the barley fields to glean and there she met Boaz, the owner of the field. They married and had a son named Obed, who became the grandfather of King David, whose lineage eventually led to the birth of the promised Messiah.

About 1000 years later, there was another woman on a detour to Bethlehem. Mary made the trip with her betrothed, Joseph. It was probably not a journey she wanted to take being 9 months pregnant – it is estimated it would have taken 4-5 days, walking 8 hours a day. But it was there in Bethlehem that the Christ child was born, fulfilling prophecy, promise and a path to redemption for all people.

When we are faced with tragedy, it is easy to misinterpret our circumstances and blame God or think He is angry with us or punishing us. We might fear that more tragedy will come. But friends, God is not a tyrant. He loves you – He IS love. He holds our broken hearts, our doubts, our broken dreams. When we are tempted to focus solely on the pain of our situation, God invites us to fix our eyes on Jesus. He knows all about heartache and suffering. Jesus wasn’t born in the Bethlehem Hilton. He came into the ugly messiness of our world and met people right in the middle of their brokenness and sin.

Friends, He is waiting for you with open arms. Offer Him your life today and receive forgiveness, joy, peace and hope for your life now and in eternity. Read the story of Naomi and Ruth, and let it encourage your faith. We don’t see all that God sees, and we don’t know all that God knows. As you face painful situations, pray that God would give you fresh faith to trust in Him, knowing that He has already planned the best path for you and He walks it with you. And like Ruth and Naomi, may each of our paths ultimately lead to the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose birth we are preparing to celebrate.

(This blog was inspired by and some content used from the “Faithful” devotionals about Naomi and Ruth, written by Trillia Newbell and Kelly Minter, and the song “The Detour” by Savannah Locke and Sarah Kroger)