Legacy.
Hazel, Mersadis, Gloria, Earline, Mary-Kate, Jodonne – these women, along with a plethora of others, have invested great time over the years in making sure that I developed into a young woman who whole heartedly pursed after God. Without the influence of these women, I would have ceased to stay focused on who I am in sight of who God is. Aside from the presence of women that I actually know, my other role models for Biblical femininity are Laura Belle Barnard, Corrie ten Boom, and Ruth Bell Graham. Today, I’m going to focus on Ruth’s legacy.
I value Ruth because I admire her character. She was witty and spoke her mind. She loved people and adventure. But above all, she was real. She was transparent in revealing her struggles, and through it all she drew people closer to God simply by sharing her own story. Her love for Christ was evident. I’m thankful for Ruth’s candidness in her writing and her honesty as she chronicled God’s faithfulness in her journal. Even after her passing, though people remembered Ruth’s humor and intellect, they could not stop talking about how her faith influenced them:
“If she’s talking to you, she’s talking to you, she’s not looking past you. You may only have her for a few seconds, but you’ve got her attention and she’s listening to what you’re saying.” – Dan Rather
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“They asked her did she ever think about divorce and she said, ‘No, I’ve never thought of divorce in all these 35 years of marriage, but,’ she said, ‘I did think of murder a few times.’” - Billy Graham, on Phil Donahue
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“My mother was in love with Jesus…and that love was contagious,” Lotz shared. “She wasn’t caught up in religion or tradition or rituals-she was caught up in a personal relationship with Jesus.” – Her daughter Ann Graham Lotz
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“Billy’s told me over and over again that Ruth is the real Christian in the family.” - Barbara Bush
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“She likes to help someone that’s in trouble. You know she couldn’t go to Tibet, so she endeavored to help people by her written word, and by love in action behind the scenes.” - Karlene Shea
Carving out my own,
~Jyess
