…gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests…

Ruth 2:23 ESV

In chapter 1 it mentioned her gleaning at the beginning of the barley harvest. Now it’s the end. A quick Google says 3 months have passed. She wasn’t one day a poor widow and the next a wealthy bride. She had to wait not knowing the outcome. She had to put in work.

When we read stories, it’s easy to miss the passage of time, even when we know it’s happening. It’s hard to feel how difficult the wait is when it’s over in the next sentence or paragraph, not to mention already knowing the outcome.

The easiest thing about being in labor to give birth is that you know it’s going to end. The hardest thing is not knowing when.

In Christ, we can know there is an end to our labors, our struggles. We can know there is a bundle of joy coming on the other side because we know God’s bringing blessing through the trial. It can be hard not knowing the when or the how. That’s when we drink from the fountain of life and trust in the fear of Lord (Pro. 14:27).