by @RamonaRichards

For my morning devotions, I use The Upper Room, which I pick up at my local church. However, with the shutdown due to the virus, I didn’t get the July/August issue this month, so I decided to reuse the May/June one. (Yes, I know I can get it online. I like paper. And that’s not the point.)

There is value in rereading devotions, which is one reason people often use the same yearly devotional more than once. You always see things you didn’t the first time around. Also, your life is in a different place. So the words mean something a little different to you a week, a month, or a year later. 

In this case, it was the interpretation of the artwork gracing The Upper Room cover, a beautiful portrait of Ruth and Naomi at the moment Ruth presents Obed to her mother-in-law (Ruth 4:13-17). In this passage, Ruth is described as being “better than seven sons,” an extraordinary compliment, and she brings a blessing on Naomi through the birth of her son, Obed, who is an ancestor of Christ. In the artwork, the two women sit facing each other, cradling a dove between them. As the interpreter, Kathryn A. Kimball of The Upper Room Chapel/Christian Art Museum, states, “In art a bird often symbolizes hope … This act of love and promise between Ruth and Naomi secures their future and the gift of hope for all Christians through the birth of Jesus.”*

The gift of hope. What an amazing thing to be able to pass to someone. Hope. It comes in small packages as well as large, and sometimes from the most unexpected sources. Such as a devotion first read more than a month ago. 

But this time was different. I needed it more right now, and the words had a distinctive impact. I was not having a good day. A very dark one, in fact. This happens to everyone, and some darknesses are deeper and more consuming than others. Falling into a state of hopelessness is unbelievably easy, and we can all fall trap to that, especially when our lives are not going as expected.

But as writers, we are hope-bringers. Light-givers. No matter what you write, when you have presented your gift back to God and asked Him to use it within His will, He will deliver. Your words matter. Maybe not today. Maybe not to a lot of people. But they matter, and the Lord will help you deliver them to the people who need them the most. 

So please, no matter how many rejections, no matter how harsh the criticism is that you receive, you are a light-giver. And your gift of hope to yourself and to others is from and through Him. 

You—and your words—matter.

I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. 

Psalm 138:2 NLT

—–

*Kathryn A. Kimball, “Cover Art Interpretation: Ruth and Naomi,” The Upper Room 86, no. 2 (May-June 2020): 2.

Ramona Richards is the associate publisher for Iron Stream Media, the parent company of New Hope Publishers, Iron Stream Kidz, Ascender Books, and Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She has been an in-house editor for Abingdon Press, Thomas Nelson, Rutledge Hill Press, and Ideals magazine, and has freelanced for a dozen other publishers. She recently received the Joann Sloan National Award for the Encouragement of Writing, a mentoring, editing, and coaching award presented by Vision Press at the Southern Christian Writers Conference. The author of nine novels, three books of devotions, and numerous magazine articles, she is a frequent speaker for women’s and writers’ groups, and has presented at numerous conferences across the country. Her latest book, Murder in the Family, is available now.

Website: Ramonarichards.com

Facebook: ramonapope.richards

Twitter: @RamonaRichards

Instagram: ramonapoperichards