Boaz spoke to the man who was in charge of his workers. He asked, “Who is that young woman?” The man replied, “She’s from Moab. She came back from there with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me walk behind the workers. Let me pick up the grain that is left.’ Then she went into the field. She has kept on working there from morning until now. She took only one short rest in the shade.”
So Boaz said to Ruth, “Dear woman, listen to me. Don’t pick up grain in any other field. Don’t go anywhere else. Stay here with my female servants. Keep your eye on the field where the men are cutting grain. Walk behind the women who are gathering it. Pick up the grain that is left. I’ve told the men not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go and get a drink. Take water from the jars the men have filled.” Ruth 2:6-9
The locals called it Gramacho, the largest landfill in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. It was so large that people called catadores (garbage pickers) made a profession of walking through the hips deep waste to find things to recycle and resell. These people were looked down upon by society and many were considered outcasts. But then one day a photographer named Vik Munez changed the perception of them forever. He turned their pictures into paintings surrounded by the garbage they collected and the result was beautiful. They became so popular the paintings grew into an exhibit, one of the largest in the world.
It reminds me of how Ruth must have felt. She was a Moabite, a Gentile in a Jewish world. Apparently she was picked on by the hired workers because of it. But then a man called Boaz came into her life everything changed. He gave her a sense of belonging, he respected her work ethic and it paid off, because they eventually got married and she became the great grandmother of King David.
Sometimes we may feel like Ruth or the Catadores, alone, unwanted, misunderstood and worthless because of things that have happened in our lives. Maybe it’s a wrong choice we’ve made, or regret from a missed opportunity, or because of what someone did to us. But God sees us differently, he has given us a purpose and wants to change our lives and help us fulfill it. He wants to take the garbage of life that we are surrounded by and make something beautiful out of our lives. If your tired of trying everything but nothing is changing, why not ask Jesus to help you. I guarantee if you stop trying to do life on your own and ask Him to partner with you, your life will never be the same.
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