Ruthie Will Manage

Recently I mentioned to someone that my family did not expect Bill to die before me.  They thought that I would die first, and then they would spend the next ten years worried about what Bill might be up to.  The person asked, “Aren’t they worried about you?”

Hmmm….probably not.  I think most of my family has always expected me to “manage” no matter what happens.  This included my own Mother, who got over worrying about me early on.

As a child, I went away from home every summer to a Girls’ Camp which was held during a week in August.  One year, when I was about 8 or 9, there was a major cold snap during the week I was at camp.  My Mother did not drive, so when my Father got home from work the day following the bitter cold night, my Mother insisted he drive down to the camp with extra blankets.

When Dad arrived at the camp, I was surprised to see him, and I explained that I had not been cold at all.  I had gone to bed in my warmest pajamas wearing in addition: socks, a sweater, my robe (which I think was quilted) and a scarf on my head.  My parents found this amusing…and reassuring.

Years later it was time for me to go away to nursing school, and four years after that, my brother went off to college.  My Father was perplexed.  He said to my Mother, “We took your daughter 700 miles away from home, and you never shed a tear.  We took you son only 200 miles from home, and you cried all the way home!”

My Mother replied, “I knew Ruthie could manage.”

So now without my sweetheart, I manage.  For years we faced every difficulty in life as a team.  We managed together.  Now I face life without him.  Fortunately, I have Jesus by my side. 

I am not always happy with life as it is now, but by the grace of God, I am managing.