Ruth's Story of God's Grace

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect
in weakness.” (2Cor 12:9)

Giving care to her daughter, Debbie, took Ruth through a journey of fear, intense pain, darkness as well as hope and thankfulness. In giving care, Ruth had many testing moments. Debbie demanded her time, support, patience and understanding and all these stretched her emotional limits. Yet, God in His amazing grace, took her to a higher level of unconditional love – and Ruth was raised from the graves of anguish. She was spurred to be strong for her child’s sake, especially when Debbie was in her suicidal downs. Those were the times when Ruth felt as though the mountain before her was insurmountable. Once, pinned against the wall of despair, Ruth pleaded, “Give me this illness, I have lived my life. Debbie has yet to live hers!”
God did not give an instant miracle but He remained faithful and walked Ruth through the dark corridors of Debbie’s condition. In her darkest hours, Ruth often found herself encompassed by God’s presence and she has learnt to find refuge in the shadow of the Cross. Her faith deepened as she dug deep into the Scriptures, prayed daily for Debbie and continued to trust God.
Today, through medication and therapy, Debbie’s condition has stabilised sufficiently and Debbie is able to resume and rebuild her life, though it is a little step at a time. Ruth is still faithfully coming alongside Debbie in her struggles.
The years of caring for her daughter have instilled in Ruth, endurance, fortitude, an iron tenacity, trust and dependence on God. She knows that God will meet her where she is and His grace will always be sufficient. As such, she is willing to relinquish her stride to God and wait upon Him daily to direct her paths.
Sometimes through prayers, God gives us a parting of the Red Sea experience but at other times He may just grant us sufficient grace and lead us through our pain. Through our afflictions, God enfolds us in His grace and draws us deeper into Him. And so, we learn to cast our anchors of absolute dependency, hope, trust and strength in Him alone because His grace is not only sufficient but His power is made perfect in our weakness.