Exactly ten years ago this month, my husband spent five weeks in the hospital before receiving a liver transplant. I never left his side. I bathed him, changed his bedding when needed, fed him, even cleaned his room. The only thing left for the nurses to do was to give him medication and I would have done that too, if they had let me.
I also never allowed anyone to see me cry. Even when he flatlined and they brought him back, I showed no emotion. I did cry, but I would wait until he was asleep and when no one was expected to enter his room to shed my tears and pour my heart out to God.
Later, I found out that I had a nickname. The doctors and nurses referred to me as the woman with nerves of steel. Sounds like I’m bragging, but that is not the case. I don’t recommend this to anyone. It rattled my nerves, I was exhausted, and I had shingles from the knee down when I left there.
Writing The Provision and Protection of Ruth made me think about my own reputation. There was nothing wrong with me taking care of my husband. There is nothing wrong with being strong. But I’d rather be known as a woman of God than the woman with nerves of steel.
My book talks a lot about reputation. What title do people use to label you? Is it the title you want? Is it the title God wants for you?
I wrote a study guide on the book of Ruth. You can find the link here-https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN6B7YP1 This blog series will follow along with each section of the book. I plan to post every Monday. If you’d like a reminder, please sign up to receive notification.
Next post- https://andreaboyd11.com/2025/11/03/god-as-our-father-ruth-28-9/
Andrea Boyd 