The Power of Story When We Journey Toward the Redeemer
A story of grief, loss, and redemption as paralleled in the book of Ruth
I first met Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young after a rehearsal one evening at the Christian school that our daughters attended. There, I was also on staff as a Drama teacher and director of the school’s first theater company, Spotlight Productions. Dorina’s sweet, oldest daughter volunteered to be the stage manager for our production of Newsies. She was SUCH a blessing!
Through parent-director interactions, I learned more about the Gilmore-Young family, the losses they had suffered, and the beautiful redemptive work God had done in their family. About a year later, Dorina and I ended up virtually attending a She Speaks conference together and stayed in touch through social media. I even participated in her “Glory Chasers” running group for several years where we encouraged one another to discover God’s majestic treasures, great and small, in nature.
It has been a true joy to observe and support Dorina as she continues to share her message of hope with those who have encountered loss. May her story of surrender and perseverance inspire you to continue to chase after the Lord even when it seems all is lost.
JOURNEYING TOWARDS THE REDEEMER: GOD’S LOVINGKINDNESS IN THE STORY OF RUTH - DORINA LAZO GILMORE-YOUNG
I still remember sitting at that outdoor café table across from my mama as a newly minted widow. In those days, it was hard for us to find time away from my three young daughters to process together. We savored our sandwiches on freshly baked bread and sipped cappuccino on that fall day. Our conversation wandered to the book of Ruth, which we were walking through at our church Bible study.
Was it any wonder that just a few months after my husband soared to heaven that God would have me circle back to study one of my favorite books in the Bible? The timing of it all was not lost on me.
This time, I was reading through the book with a new lens as a young widow myself. The details leaped off the pages of my Bible, and I saw His fingerprints all over the story.
The story begins with two women, Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, in the midst of a crisis. Naomi’s husband Elimelech has died and her two sons, including Ruth’s husband, have also died in Moab where they had lived.
Naomi decides to return to her hometown of Bethlehem where there is promise of provision and urges her two daughters-in-law to return to their Moabite families. She has nothing to offer them. But Ruth takes an unexpected stand.
Her words echo through the halls of history:
“Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”Ruth 1:16 (HCSB)
Ruth chooses the road to Bethlehem. She walks away from her home in Moab, her family of origin, and her past.
On the road to Bethlehem, Ruth’s life is transformed. In Hebrew, Bethlehem means the “house of bread” — a symbol of provision. Ruth doesn’t know it at the time, but trusting in God means walking toward provision, freedom, and eventually unexpected redemption for both her and Naomi.
That day, sitting at the cafe, my mama said these words to me, “I just want to encourage you to open your heart. I believe God has someone else for you.”
My hands and heart trembled. How could she suggest that God might bring a new man to our family when I was still in the depths of my grief?
My marriage with my husband Ericlee had been strong. We were a team in parenting and ministry. But in losing him, I was down a teammate, and the wounds were still fresh. It was difficult to lift my head to imagine a hopeful future.
But I heard my mama’s words.
As crimson and gold leaves sashayed to the ground, and the sun warmed my cheeks, I felt a glimmer of hope.
In that same season, God brought Shawn into my life.
Shawn was a dear friend of our family – one of Ericlee’s best friends. We rekindled our friendship, and God began to unfold His wild plan for my future. Shawn spent time with the girls and me, and I began to look at him in a new way. My heart began to open.
Could this be God’s unexpected provision?
I expected pushback, but our friends and families gave us their blessing. Our Author-God handed us the next chapter of this life and invited my three young daughters and me into an unexpected redemption story only He could have written. Out of our brokenness, God brought abundance.
We wanted everyone who attended our wedding to know that God was the one who deserved all the glory for bringing us together. More than 700 people filled the church that day to celebrate with us. These were the people who had prayed for healing and grieved with us, the ones who had stood by my side on my hardest days and lifted me up.
When I look back over our wedding pictures from nine years ago, joy and wonder still bubble up in my spirit. We laughed, we cried, we feasted, we danced – all the while giving God glory for the surprising beauty He brought from our ashes.
God brings beauty from the ashes of Ruth’s life too. That single decision to follow Naomi to Bethlehem changes the trajectory of her life. She meets Boaz in Bethlehem, who later becomes her kinsman-redeemer and husband. More importantly, Ruth meets God, who is her ultimate Redeemer.
God includes her in His story – history – as the great-grandmother of King David and part of the bloodline of His Son Jesus. It’s no coincidence that Jesus was later born in Bethlehem, where Ruth discovered the kindness of God and true redemption.
Friend, if are feeling hopeless, remember Ruth. If you are wading through the chaos of our world or your personal life feeling like redemption is out of reach, remember how Yahweh met her on the road to Bethlehem. He met me there too.
Let’s all take a step toward Bethlehem. Our Redeemer awaits.
How has God met you during times of grief or loss? How has God redeemed places and spaces in your own life?
Let’s Share Stories! I hope you will continue to join me as we celebrate the power of story together. Click on the links below to subscribe or share.
*This is an excerpt from Dorina’s new Bible study Redeemer: God’s Lovingkindness in the Book of Ruth. Dorina offers up a robust 6-week study, including a verse-by-verse journey through the book, personal teachings unfolding Dorina’s own story of redemption, and original art to inspire reflection and prayer. For more details about the study, check out DorinaGilmore.com/Redeemer.
Dorina is an award-winning author, speaker, mentor, podcaster and Bible teacher who loves to help people discover God’s glory on life’s unexpected trails. She is a remarried widow who lives in Central California with her hubby Shawn and three courageous daughters. Dorina has published more than 20 books, including children’s picture books, Bible studies, devotionals, poetry and non-fiction. Connect with her at:
Website: www.DorinaGilmore.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorinagilmore/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DorinaLazoGilmore
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorinagilmore/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dorinagilmore
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dorinagilmore/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dorinagilmore
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DorinaGilmore\
Great read!
I am not perfect. I am a scarred man. I don’t have it all figured out. But I trust God’s plan.
Scars come with living. Life has a way of marking us, reminding us where we’ve been, what we’ve survived, and the battles that shaped us. Some scars fade with time, while others never quite heal. And then there are the fresh wounds—the ones that still sting, still ache, still leave us catching our breath.
Lately, it feels like I just had the wind knocked out of me. Funny how faith can turn to doubt when you’re hit with a punch you never saw coming. I’ve done all the right things, yet it all seems to have gone wrong. I had everything in place, but somehow, it still slipped through my hands. The weight of it stacks up like worries piled to the ceiling, and if I’m honest, I feel like I’m on an island by myself.
Grief is a thief. It sneaks up on you, takes what it wants, and leaves behind scars you never asked for. And just when you think you’ve made peace with the old wounds, new ones collide with them—fresh pain reopening places you thought were healed. Trauma is tricky like that. One moment, you’re walking through life, managing the weight of what was, and the next, something triggers that old sense of abandonment, that deep ache that whispers, Is there room for the new when the old still hurts?
The holidays feel empty this year. The table looks different. The conversations aren’t the same. The silence is louder than ever. I find myself asking, Is it going to be okay? Do the lost get found?
But even in all of this—this ache, this exhaustion, this unanswered mess—I’m learning to bring it all to the Great I Am. Every burden, every scar, every unspoken prayer. I’ve learned that I don’t have to fix this by myself. In fact, I can’t. But the One who holds all things together can.
Jesus never left. He never moved. He’s still here, still waiting, still reaching for me in the middle of my mess. Nothing is too heavy for Him. Nothing is too broken. I may not be able to do it, but the Great I Am can. And that’s the reminder I have to cling to: God is whatever and whenever I need Him to be.
I don’t know what scars you’re carrying—old or new. I don’t know what battle you’re facing right now. But I do know this: Scars come with living. Life will cut deep, but healing is real. And the same God who carried me through the old wounds will carry me through these new ones, too.
So I choose to stand still and know. To lift my head to where my help comes from. To take chances, take risks, and trust that this pain won’t last forever. The question is: Will I allow God to heal me from the inside out, or will I let resentment build walls where healing was meant to take place?
At the end of the day, the choice is ours. The scars will come, but so will the healing. And when life cuts deep, may we always remember: We are not alone.
"Beauty from ashes" is one of my favorite phrases. It is so difficult when you are in the thick of it, but standing on the other side & looking back always leaves me so grateful.
Bless you.