As miserable as it is, sometimes life falls apart and it falls apart hard.
It's okay though, thankfully. Sometimes things have to fall apart so that you can realize you need to be taking a different path. Sometimes things will fall apart so that you can realize that life isn't always perfect, but it can always end up okay.
When you start to see that things are going downhill, it's okay to let it happen. You don't have to fight for everything to stay together if you know it's out of your control.
Don't become comfortable with bad things happening, but realize that sometimes those things happen for a reason. We honestly need those little hiccups and break downs in life. They keep us on our toes and help us see that we can experience joy on the other side of heart break.
Good things actually can come from some of the worst situations. Even though that's not the ideal way to experience joy or have your life changed for the better, if those things happen through something gross it's still okay.
The story of how Ruth and Boaz came together is the perfect example of this.
Ruth had moved to a new place with her mother-in-law, in the eyes of society she was worthless, in the eyes of the law she should have not ended up where she did, BUT through her character, hard-work, and the grace of God she ended up right where she needed to.
She stayed with her mother-in-law, she worked in fields, she fought for her family and she was rewarded for that with a husband. Boaz was truly a man of God and him loving Ruth the way that he did was something that should have never happened.
If Ruth would have returned to Moab with Orpah then she would not have received all of the goodness that streamed from her staying in Judah. When she chose to cling to what the Lord had planned for her and allowed one aspect of her life to go downhill, even though she didn't know it at the time, she was allowing God to move in mighty ways. When Ruth stayed, God invaded her space.
And that is why we need to come to terms with bad things happening. Because when we cling to the Lord rather than fighting battles on our own God invades us and fights our battles for us. He repairs our paths and makes them go the way they should have been going all along.
That is grace.
