The Mother-In-Law

The Mother-in-Law

Many people  remember the story of Ruth and Boaz, that great “Love Story” in the Bible. But many don't realize the story of Ruth’s mother-in-law,  Naomi. Naomi must have been the example of how every mother-in-law should behave. She was so kind to her 2 daughter-in-laws that when all of their husbands died, they did not want to leave her side. When the other one, Orpah, finally agreed to leave, Ruth still refused and begged her mother in law, Naomi, to remain with her. 

Her response to Naomi pleading with her to leave, sparked  the famous passage from the Bible and is read at many weddings. 

Ruth 1:16 - “Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”

Ruth spoke these words to her Mother-in-Law, Naomi, not Boaz as many may think. Ruth had a great love for her mother-in-law, and her mother in law must have shared that affection. As she allowed Ruth to stay with her. As a result, she met Naomi’s relative Boaz, whom she later married. 

When I was first married, some 30 plus years ago to my former husband, I had an occasion while we were dating to meet his mother.  I was so nervous about it because I had heard about how horrible some of them could be and the stereotype depicted on TV was not an encouraging one, so I was somewhat anxious to meet her. What would she think of me? Would she like me? Would she be nice to me? These were questions that swirled around in my head. 

When we arrived at his home, one weekend while we were on break from college, we went to see her. No need to mention how nervous I was. She came to the door and ran outside and gave her son the biggest hug and kiss on the cheek, but to my surprise she ran to the car door as I opened it and got out and she gave me the same exact greeting!  She said to me. “Hello Ella, I have heard so many good things about you from my son. It is so nice to finally meet you.” I was pleasantly and  shockingly surprised at her statement and her greeting to me. 

I thought to myself, she seems very nice. I wonder how long this will last?  As time went on that weekend, she continued to treat me like her very own daughter! 

She actually had a daughter my  same age at the time. I began to feel like one of her own children. Anything I wanted  that weekend, she wanted to make sure I had it. I left that weekend thinking she was going to be an awesome future mother-in-law to me. And she became just that! 

She was very nice to me after we got married and even after we had children. She never meddled in our business and never was jealous of our relationship, or ever tried to choose sides if we had any disagreements. 

She was a  true christian who practiced her faith and walked the walk. She turned 99 years old this year and although Alzheimer's and Dementia have taken over her short term memory. She can still hum an old fashioned gospel song and praise the Lord like she did when she was a young girl. 

God wants us to feel welcomed and he will never leave us or forsake us. He wants us to choose him and salvation so that we can have eternal life and live forever with him in Heaven. He has a great love for us just like Ruth had for Naomi, her mother in law and just like my mother in law had for me. He wants us to make a conscious decision to choose HIM today. 

Written by Ella Shines Goldsmith     08-05-2025