Handfuls of Purpose: A Poem and a Devotion

“And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.”—Ruth 2:16

A POEM:

God to Boaz

Let fall handfuls of purpose for her

She knows not the blessings I have in store

And while My plans for her are taking form

As she waits, please bless her with provision, kindness, and care

Boaz to His Men

Let fall handfuls of purpose for her

As she ministers to her mother-in-law and likely grieves the passing

Of her husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law

Comfort her with generous amounts of barley in our harvest

and protect her from any harm

I admire this young lady

She has shown commitment to our God

By leaving her comforts, her home, and her family—all she knows

To join herself with His people

Out of love for her mother-in-law

Show her the kindness of our God

Let her know that He does not let one of His children go uncared for

Show her the respect that she likely has never known

By letting handfuls of purpose fall before her

And watching over her as she gleans in my field

While I may not see the picture clearly

I know she is a special woman

She's young, yet has shown great wisdom

In how she is faithful and obedient to her mother-in-law

Boaz to God

So, Lord God,

Help me be to her

All that you are to me.

While I let handfuls of purpose fall before her.

A DEVOTION:

In the book of Ruth, Boaz told his young men to let “handfuls of purpose” fall on the ground for Ruth to pick up and glean. Not only was she to glean after the reapers what fell to the ground, more handfuls of barley were to be dropped on purpose on the ground in front of Ruth to glean. As far as we know, she was the only one of the maidens of Boaz' field who got this privilege. I think it could be said that she did not know this provision was taking place on her behalf. She just went along with her commitment to provide for her mother-in-law and reaped blessings in return.

So, too, in our lives. God's handfuls of purpose may not be easily understood or seen by us at the times of His provision of them, but when we look with hindsight back on the workings of God in our lives, we then see clearly that He, too, lets fall handfuls of purpose (or in a general sense, handfuls of blessings) before us.

Another way of saying this is that God not only provides for us, He gives us much more than we expected or even hoped for from Him. This could be monetary provision. It could be in the form of wise counsel from our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It could be the illumination He grants us when we read His Word. Whatever it is, if God is doing the providing, it is abundant, free, and given without rebuke or strings attached.

I think many of us, who have trusted Christ as our Savior, and received His free gift of salvation believe that somehow we need to work for His blessings. While there is some truth to the fact God blesses His children while we are faithful to Him in the here and now, I think God's handfuls of purpose are completely free and not dependent on anything we do.

Like salvation, the gifts and provisions He gives us in our daily lives, when viewed in light of Ruth 2:16, are blessings above and beyond our good works, our hopes, our requests, and our desires.

I think the best way to fully appreciate and acknowledge these handfuls of purpose then is to be thankful to God. Not congratulatory of ourselves in our walks with God and how we've “earned” these blessings, but to acknowledge that without Him, we would not receive these handfuls of purpose, these above and beyond blessings from His Hand.

As I survey my life, I can look back and see many of these kinds of blessings from the Hand of my Savior. I acknowledge that He has provided for me above and beyond what I ever hoped in my education, in my relationships with my family, in my work, in my growth in Him, with the recent gift of a husband and a daughter, and so much more.

It is good for me to remember as I reflect on these handfuls of purpose that God has let fall along my path, that they are from Him alone and are a testament of the greatest gift He could ever give me—His love.

(Source: Mark Oehrhardt on Pixabay)

Hands

The lady standing there was praying.

She was dressed nicely, looked upper middle class.

Her hands were close together, each index finger touching her lips.

In her eyes was a pleading so desperate.

A wish so real. A hope so far.

In her view was a statue of Brahma, 

Gold 

With four heads.

In the air was the smell of incense and the chants of request.

Why, though, talk to an image made with hands?

Can a Holy thing dwell in something man-made?

Would a spirit incarnate in something unable to move?

If a god were truly good, wouldn’t he wish to be something mobile? 

Someone whose hands could touch the soul and give comfort so desperately needed?

She was a beautiful woman, who will be in my memory. 

The one standing in my view, reaching out her heart to something that wasn’t there.

And now, my prayer to my God, the One who made the person who made the image,

Lord Jesus, show her Your hands.

Written in March 29, 2000, after I visited Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand.

Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand. (2000)

Five Minute Friday: After

After the pain, after the rain

After the tears, after the years

After the waiting, after the hurting

After the when, after the then

We need, we feed

On God’s Word

Come what may, come what might

Let us not be afraid or in flight

Be still, be real

For God is near

Never fear

Jesus waits on us

Yearns for us

To come to Him and find Him

In the ashes, in the dust

Our lives, never complete

For without Him,

We can do nothing.

There is a before, there is a behind

We know not what we will find

In the coming days

Of God’s ways

Just stay the course

Begin again if you must

But never forget

That He has an eternal

After

Where we will put our face

In His hands

And rest there

Forever.

The Road Less Traveled

Sometimes treasures are found in the rereading of our history. I came across one treasure the other day in this poem I wrote below in 2007. For background, it is an overview of my years waiting for a husband and hopefully a family of my very own and how God did not let me wait idle! He definitely kept my feet moving.

Nearly three years after this was written, I got married, and nearly two years after that, our daughter was born. Although I reference many places, I decided to just include two photographs of the girls I mention by name in this poem. My prayer is this blesses you in some way today. --Cassy

__________

The road less traveled

Is the one I find myself on

Here a little

There a little

Rounding the corner to find …

My destiny?

My purpose in God’s hands

I look there and see a little bit of Asia

Of Cambodia and her religious ruins and killing fields

Of Viet Nam and leftovers of a war my dad fought

Of Laos and her beautiful land

And of Thailand where I first heard my missionary call

I see a little bit of Europe

Of Romania and her “Asta Este”*

Of Romanian students trying so hard to grow up

In a world they know little about

Of Gypsies

And their flamboyant colors and naughtiness

All exaggerated in the lens of my camera

Gifts

Given

Gifts

Received

Miora’s eyes

And Sorina’s hot pink flower

In her hair

Complimenting the stare

Now immortalized in pixels on a print

In a frame on my wall

The road less traveled

I have been on since my life

Was yielded into His hands

At the age of 23

And there, in the midst of His creases and scars

Lies a map of His drawing

Of my journey with a Savior who spoils me

In taking me to places I never

Would have imagined

I’d travel.

 (Written 11-18-07)

*Asta Este means “It is what it is.” It is basically the Romanian version of the French saying “C’est la vie” or the American saying “That’s Life.”

Sorina (Onesti, Romania, in July 2005)

Miora (Onesti, Romania, in July 2005)