Verse from Ruth

“拿俄米对她们说：“不要叫我拿俄米，叫我玛拉吧，因为全能者使我吃尽了苦头。”

‭‭路得记‬ ‭1:20‬ ‭

““Don’t call me Naomi, ” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.”

‭‭Ruth‬ ‭1:20‬ ‭

The book of Ruth tells about a woman named Naomi who struggled with a heart of grief that grew into bitterness. Her husband died in a foreign land, and ten years later both her sons died. She was left destitute with her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah (1:3–5). 

When Naomi and Ruth returned to Naomi’s home country, the whole town was excited to see them. But Naomi told her friends: “The Almighty has made my life very bitter. . . . The Lord has afflicted me” (vv. 20–21). She even asked them to call her “Mara,” meaning bitter. 

Who hasn’t faced disappointment and been tempted toward bitterness? Someone says something hurtful, an expectation isn’t met, or demands from others make us resentful. When we acknowledge to ourselves and God what’s happening deep in our hearts, our tender Gardener can help us dig up any roots of bitterness—whether they’re still small or have been growing for years—and can replace them with a sweet, joyful spirit.