An Amazing Woman Named Ruthie

"Jesus wants me to talk to you."
She says staring down at me.
Ooooookay.
I might think wackpack but instead I am looking at
an adorable teenager on a bus coming home from
a Bible Quizzing event in Ohio.
She sits down and relates to me her seventeen year old
brother's tragic bike accident that has left him mentally impaired.
He was influential in her life, an amazing christian
pursuing God relentlessly, now taken out of the active game,
or so we think.

This begins the give and take relationship with Ruthie.
We meet, we connect, we say goodbye and we don't see each other
for sometimes years. A time back we met again at a Bible quizzing event
and I push myself on her, "let me come over and let's do a bible study, Ruthie?!"
God had just told her she needed spiritual parents, I fell right into that one.

This is a young woman who has lived through hard times, knows them well, has grown from them. She is priceless. We meet for a number of months and again fall out of touch while she falls into love. Last night she walks in my kitchen door with her young missionary led husband, Michael. Can we find more apt names for the two of them- Ruthie willing to go where she is led by her husband Michael who shares the same name with the archangel.This couple is a couple to know and remember.

Last night they share with a room full of teenagers, grandparents, and children their vision to the Muslim world. Their perspective revs my spirit, fills my soul, inspires my imagination. They are headed to India. This is a couple who know what life is all about. They are seeking His kingdom, pushing aside the need to eek out a happiness from the American Culture they are immersed in. These are the laborers Christ passionately seeks.

I listen to Ruthie and feel as if I can literally see her maturity etched into her forehead and around her eyes. She has been through and seen much. She talks of persecution in a way that scares me but with a profoundness that rivels the woman concerned about her next manicure. She is a saleswoman and you want to buy what she has, she will lead many into missions, the writing is on the wall.

The little girl, Leah, who shares the blood of these two remarkable people is a blessed girl. I believe we'll hear about Leah. These are people worth knowing! Let's fill our homes with these gatherings inspiring all age groups to go and make disciples.