There is a story in the Bible – in the book of Ruth, about a lady who suffered huge grief. Naomi not only lost her husband but also her two sons in the midst of a famine. She lost her security, her love, her freedom and her safety. She was afraid, hungry, homeless and hopeless. Her prospects don’t look good. She is in the dark. As a woman in those times, this was pretty much as bad as it could get.

She felt as though God had turned against her.

Put yourself in her shoes. You may not have to. I don’t know what you have gone through. Perhaps you too have gone through terrible loss. Maybe its your health or your job or your finances. Perhaps you feel that you have lost your freedom in some way. Maybe you have lost your hope after a great disappointment. Perhaps someone has dreadfully let you down. A promise was made but never fulfilled.

None of us like being without something. We don’t like being cold or hot, or thirsty or hungry. We don’t like losing our eyesight or our hearing. We don’t like losing friendships, partners, siblings, children, jobs, status, wellbeing or peace. Loss is one of the hardest things we have to deal with isn’t it? But loss is part of life. And God gives us some amazing tools to deal with it. I talk about this a lot in my book.

What are you expecting?

Last year one of my brothers paid for my husband and I to have a surprise weekend away in Bilbao in Spain. I know no Spanish at all. I didn’t even know the word for two! There I was in a foreign country unable to ask for anything in my own language. Because no one could understand me they could not help. I pointed. I spoke more loudly”¦ but it didn’t help!
Sometimes after a period of grief we can feel like we are in a foreign country. We feel as though no-one understands us anymore. We don’t want to speak, or maybe when we do, it doesn’t help.

Naomi was so bitter and angry and upset that she changed her name. In the Bible names were really significant they were part of character and destiny. eWhen God changed someones name, He was inviting them to BE DIFFERENT
Look what Naomi says to her old friends:

“Don’t call me Naomi (which means pleasant..) call me Mara – bitter. God has dealt bitterly with me. I went out full but He has brought me back empty.” Ruth 1:20-21

God often changes names in the Bible. She took it upon herself to change her OWN name. That is very significant.
What are you calling yourself? Do you say ” I used to enjoy life”¦ but not anymore. I used to be like this”¦ but now I am different”¦” in a negative way?

She was expecting the worst. What about you?