North Dakota Ruth

 

There was a man from North Dakota named Eli.  He was a German from Russia.   He had a cousin named Boaz.   Eli was ambitious and adventurous.  Boaz was a home body.  Both Eli and Boaz worked hard and were strong.   Eli married his high school sweetheart named Naomi.  She too wanted to see the world.   While Eli and Naomi were the life of the party when they were young, Boaz was a geek.   Boaz was a computer nerd when nerds were not cool.   Though Boaz was honest and liked by everyone he could not get a date for the life of him.

A long drought hit North Dakota.  Eli and Naomi lost interest in life on the farm, packed up their bags, and moved to southern California.   While in California they did very well.   They had two boys, Mike and Chad who also did well.   Their boys married California girls, Ruth, and Oprah.    Eli came down with skin cancer and it quickly spread all over his body.  He died in California, was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.   His boys decided to gamble big on the latest tech opportunity.   They mortgaged all the family property, neglected to keep it insured, and then were killed in an earthquake that demolished their possessions before the investment matured.  Naomi, Ruth, and Oprah were left penniless.

Naomi was at the end of her end.  She heard stories of God’s grace in North Dakota.  There was a new oil boom.  It was even raining, and the crop forecast looked good.  She decided to go home to North Dakota.   Her daughters-in-law wanted to come with her.  She was like a mother to them.   However, Naomi knew what they were getting into.

“My daughters,” she said, “I am not having any more sons. You girls are beautiful.  You are well educated.  You have your life before you.   Go back to your southern California friends and family.  Meet a boy.  Please start over without me.  God will be kind to you.  However, you cannot follow me back to North Dakota.  You will not have a future.”

Oprah decided to leave Naomi.  They wept in departure.  Naomi blessed Oprah.

Ruth refused to leave.   Naomi decided to tell her like it is and held nothing back.

“My people are stubborn and independent.  They will not let anyone tell them what to do,” she said.

“And let me tell you about the weather.   Every winter it is below forty for weeks.  You might have two blizzards in April.  Droughts can last years.  Sometimes it is in the nineties for weeks in the summer.  You never know when a hailstorm or tornado will come out of nowhere.   Most people cannot handle it.  Those that do will still drive eighty miles per hour on the interstate on icy roads.  It is nuts.”

Ruth refused to leave.  

“With God as my witness I will stay with you the rest of my life.   I will eat Fleischkuechle and sauerkraut.   I will go to church with your relatives no matter whether its Lutheran, Catholic, or Evangelical.   I will be buried with you on a lonely prairie cemetery.”

Naomi gave up.  They gathered their remaining belongings, got on a train, and went home to North Dakota.  When they got home Naomi’s extended family came to meet her.  They could not believe what had happened.  Naomi no longer was the life of the party.  She was bitter and angry.   Naomi got a job as a Walmart greeter.  Ruth flipped burgers at Wendy’s.   Then Ruth heard a rumor that a wealthy farmer needed a gopher for the harvest.  She quickly got in touch and was hired on the spot.  

As luck would have it the wealthy farmer was Boaz.   Financially life had gone well for Boaz while Eli and Naomi were in California.   The North Dakota economy shifted where technology and finance skills were essential for agriculture.   Boaz made the right choices time after time.  Being a computer geek was to his advantage.  As others struggled Boaz expanded time after time.  

Boaz changed.  He went from being awkward to just shy and soft spoken.  When he did speak people listened.  He never married.  Time altered his body.   Though still remarkably strong from his labor he was a bit overweight.   The sun had prematurely wrinkled his skin.   He wore bifocals.  His hair went gray and then started balding and he never got a decent haircut.  He wore a hearing aid.  His cholesterol and blood pressure ticked up.  His doctor told him he would get healthier if he married, and then they both giggled at that unlikely outcome. 

Ruth arrived at work early and left late.  She did all that was asked and found what was not getting done and did that too.   She was out of her element and naïve; but asked questions, read voraciously when she was not at work and began mastering both the culture and business details.  

Boaz noticed Ruth and spoke kindly to her like if she was his own daughter.   Somehow God’s name naturally flowed from his lips as he wished her well.  He was thankful his cousin’s wife had such a daughter-in-law.   At the end of the day, Boaz occasionally gave Ruth a box of steaks, a bag of sweet corn, or fresh vegetables from the garden to take home to Naomi.   Boaz noticed Ruth’s beauty and the eyes of his crew watching her.  His men worked hard, but he knew their failings.   When Ruth was out, he pulled his men together and gave them a lecture.

“Boys if you give this girl any ________ I will kick your _______”

Ruth came home each evening dirty and tired, but with cash in her pocket, healthy food, and Boaz’ encouragement.  Naomi had an idea.   There was a twinkle in her eye with a twinge of hope.  What if Boaz and Ruth were to get married?    Yes, they were kind of related; but it was distant and not through blood.  Yes, there was an age difference; but Boaz was not as old as he looked.  Yes, there were cultural differences, but the churches they grew up in spoke German just a generation ago.  And at church they heard stories every Sunday about God’s love for all people.  Why not try?  Naomi coached Ruth through how to make an audacious proposal that might be heard.

At the end of a long day of harvest Boaz and his crew tidied machines up in a distant shop.   They had a cold beer.  The old farmhouse on this spot had collapsed.  Boaz drug an old RV out to this site for him to sleep, but everyone else drove home or to a cheap hotel.   

As the sun set Boaz stepped into the RV and there was Ruth.   She had left work a bit early and cleaned up.  Wow!  In front of Boaz was a candlelight steak dinner with fresh North Dakota vegetables.   Naomi and Ruth still had several bottles of good California wine, and the glasses were filled.

Boaz thought this must be some big misunderstanding and tried to make a gracious exit. 

“I didn’t realize you were dating one of my men,” he said.  “This is where I am sleeping.  You must have got lost finding his place on these roads.  GPS never works right out here.  Who is it?   I will drive you to where he is staying.”

Ruth responded, “Nope this is for you.  You know my mother-in-law can be difficult to live with, but sometimes she has clever ideas.   I know this must look impulsive or crazy, but when I walked through the history museum and checked dates this is not unheard of.   Let’s get married.  You are the kindest man I have ever known.  Naomi thinks our pastor will be supportive.”

Boaz sat down, ate his meal, and pondered these matters.  He spoke.

“Wow.  What can I say? May the Lord richly bless you.    I did not expect this.  Yet, Naomi had promising ideas when we were kids.  You are stunning, smart, and hard working.  You are incredibly loyal.  Everyone speaks well of you.  You are right this is crazy for our days, but our grandparents lived like this.  Please do not be afraid.   Why not, let us get married.

Yet, there are some unresolved family matters.   There is a section of land that Naomi seems to have an inheritance claim on.   Our cousins are squabbling.  If we get married without that matter resolved, it will escalate family tension.   If people find out, you spent the night here gossip will get out of hand.   Here is what we will do.  You sleep in the bed tonight.  I will sleep on the couch.  You get up and be gone by 4 am.   Do not let anyone see you.  Do not show up until 6 am at this shop.     Do not say a thing to anyone but Naomi.   I will call my lawyer and banker in the morning and start talking to my cousin about that section.    I will write a gracious check for that section of land. With God as my witness, I will get this matter resolved ASAP.

Now, before you leave grab a pack of walleye out of the freezer for Naomi.  I have more in the freezer than I can eat.”

When Ruth got home Naomi was eagerly waiting for her.  Ruth told Naomi all that had happened.  Naomi giggled.  Naomi said,

“My family can argue over land for years.  I bet this matter will be cleared up by the end of the week.  This is going to be interesting.”

The next day, Boaz called his lawyer and banker.  He found a way to meet both at a small café far enough away that his relatives would not know they were talking.  After crunching numbers and playing with ideas he started making phone calls to his cousins.   Though there was family tension there were still enough good childhood memories and shared interests that they would pick up the phone.   He invited all the concerned ones to meet for breakfast at the conference room of a local restaurant. 

The next morning, they all arrived with a few surprised looks at who all was in the room.

Boaz started the conversation, “This is a bit complicated, but I wanted all of you to hear this news from me and see if we can work this out without a squabble and paying too much money to lawyers.   You have probably noticed that cute California girl, Ruth, who came home with Naomi.   We have dated a bit and plan to get married.”

Before Boaz could get to the part of his speech where he discussed the land, his cousins started laughing and poking fun at him.

One cousin exclaimed, “I was raised Catholic, but I am going to have to become Pentecostal.   Miracles do still happen today.”

Another hopped in, “Well I am going to stay Lutheran until a doctor certifies that Ruth is not blind.  Come on guys, have you honestly looked at Boaz.  No way.”

After the laughter ended, Boaz continued.  

“Ok.  Here is the difficult part – We all know there is a section of land our family has squabbling over.   It is complicated with lost documents and unclear wills.   One of you has a claim on it.  So does Naomi.   So, do I.   If Ruth and I have children instead of them growing up playing with all your grandchildren those kids will be rivals.  I cannot let that happen.   I am willing to buy the section outright today and put this all behind us.   Name your price.”

The concerned cousin was a bit embarrassed and muttered a bit.   He tried to delay and make a phone call to a banker and lawyer.   Before he could get on the phone, another cousin hopped in.

“Come on man, we all know you have talked to your lawyer about this a multiple of times.   You know what the land is worth.  Give Boaz a number.  Besides, my wife got me taking dance lessons and I am ready for a wedding dance.  No more delays.”

The concerned cousin scratched a number on a napkin and handed it to Boaz.

Boaz shifted the conversation, “By the way guys, I am buying breakfast.  Do not even worry about the tip.  I have it all.   I am still old fashioned and want to add 15%, but it seems today the going rate is 20%.”

Then Boaz wrote a check for 20% more than his cousin had asked and pushed the check with the napkin back to the concerned cousin.

“Wow! I accept,” proclaimed the concerned cousin.

“Great,” Boaz said, “After we leave, I will call my lawyer and draw up the papers.  You will have documents to sign by the end of the day.” 

The room clapped and laughed.

Then Boaz pulled out a box with brand new cowboy boots and handed them to his concerned cousin.    “It seems your wife did keep the secret,” Boaz said, “I called to ask what size you wear and if she had seen you eyeing any new boots the last few months.  These should fit you just fine.”

When the laughter had died down the oldest cousin spoke up,

“Cousins I cannot believe this.   Yes, there really is a God out here on the prairie.   Boaz, May God richly bless you and Ruth.   May you have scads of kids.   May abundant rain fall upon our lands.   May the cattle calve with ease.   May your wealth increase.   May all these old stories we heard from our grandparents repeat in our times.   May God’s name be glorified through this breakfast, your upcoming marriage, and the abundance of the land.”

Everyone said, “Amen,” and then dismissed.

Boaz and Ruth married.  Within a year they had a son.  They named him Obed which means, “The servant of God.”

Naomi quit her Walmart greeter job.  She moved into the old homestead house that had been sitting empty but was just next door to Boaz and Ruth’s home.    Every day, Naomi came over to Ruth’s place and played with Obed.   She held his hand and walked with him on the farm.  She told Obed stories her grandparents had told her plus about her days in California and return to North Dakota.  

Besides going to church Naomi once a week went to town to quilt with her friends.    There was always some local gossip to share.   The wise women at the quilting group directed the gossip to sharing recent good news with hope for a better future.   Naomi’s journey sometimes was the topic of quilting gossip.  The quilters proclaimed,

“Naomi, you have been blessed.  The Lord did not leave you alone.   We would trade seven of our sons for one daughter-in-law like your Ruth.   We trust your old age will be full of joy. Enjoy that dear little, Obed.  This story is not over yet.”