When we think about people in the Bible, we tend to forget that they didn’t live perfect lives. They were flawed and hurt just like us. Naomi, her husband, and three sons had to leave their home because of famine. Ten years later, Naomi returns to her hometown with no one but her daughter-in-law, Ruth, a Moabite. Can you imagine the reaction of the other women in the town? They probably gossiped, saying things like, “Look at her, she looks like she’s aged twenty years. Where’s her husband? What’s she doing with THAT girl?” When the people of the town called out her name, she told them in Ruth 1:20 not to call her Naomi anymore, which meant pleasant, but instead Mara, meaning bitter. Naomi believed that God had made her life very bitter. In ten years, she had lost her husband and sons, and she was blaming God for letting it happen. When you read the entire book of Ruth, you’ll see that in reality God was preparing everything on her behalf for good. He wasn’t making her life bitter; He was making it better. Naomi and Ruth’s journey allowed them to be part of the genealogy of Jesus. Have you ever blamed God for anything? Remember Naomi. Trust God’s timing, for the best is yet to come.