I grew up in a protestant church under the denomination of the Church of Christ. It was a wonderful church, and I was given a biblical and spiritual education that I carry with me to this day. From that education, I developed a deep love of the Word.

Becoming Catholic

When I met my husband in college, in our university theatre program, I fell very much in love with him. As a friendship and relationship grew, I also learned about his Catholic faith. I’m surprisingly traditional, and when we became engaged, I decided to take the leap and follow his spiritual leadership into Catholicism.

I didn’t really know what I was getting into at the start. Through our conversations, we had already learned that most of our beliefs, at their core, we the same. Sometimes we were saying the same thing, just using different words.

Over the last several years, I have encountered a depth and beauty to Catholicism that I never imagined I would find. There is a richness and sense of homecoming that, even as a writer, I struggle to put into words.

Choosing St. Ruth

When you become a Catholic, you chose a saint. It wasn’t a hard choice for me. It came to me almost immediately, and I never questioned the choice. I chose Ruth.

I have always deeply connected with Ruth. As a child and young adult, it was my favorite book of the bible. I loved the story and I read it over and over again. My great grandmother was named Ruth. We share the same birthday, a birthday I now also share with my third son, Thomas. (He’s crawling at my feet now as I type.)

But as an adult, who is now a Catholic, I find even more in common with Ruth. She was a woman and an outsider. Like me, she came into the faith through her husband.

Ruth’s Faithfulness

Likewise, Ruth was grafted into the family of God before she married Boaz. Ruth had married one of Naomi’s sons, both of whom died. After Naomi lost her sons, she made to send Ruth and Orpah away. Orpah went back to her people and her god, but Ruth refused.

But Ruth said, “Do not press me to go back and abandon you! Wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. Where you die I will die, and there be buried. May the LORD do thus to me, and more, if even death separates me from you!”

Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to go with her.

Ruth 1:16-17

Your people shall be my people and your God, mine. Ruth made her choice and followed Naomi into Naomi’s home, people, and faith. She lived and moved and had her being in that faith, following behind the harvesters, gleaning and serving God. She followed and obeyed as best as she could, with scarely a moment’s rest.

Following Faith Toward Home

While she served Naomi and God by following behind the harvesters, gleaning, Naomi knew something wasn’t right. Ruth was a part of the faith, but she wasn’t home. Not fully. Not in the place she was meant to be.

Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not be seeking a pleasing home for you?

Ruth 3:1

Home. And so Naomi sent her to Boaz, to lie down at his feet and ask to be grafted and accepted into her planned place and family. She married him, and through their union, she became a part of the lineage of Christ.

Something miraculous happens when we find our home. God moves us to where we are meant to serve. I believe that I was meant to find my home in Catholicism, just as Ruth was meant to find her home in the family of Naomi, Boaz, and thus Christ.

For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

Ephesians 2:10

His plan is so much better than we could ever plan for ourselves. I didn’t expect to find myself here today, on Easter Sunday. In a few moments, I am going to hit that launch button and step forward into this, even though I not ready and I feel scared. But I am going to step forward in faith because I feel like this is my home. Where I was meant to be. As a Catholic, as a writer, and as a Ruth.

Bridging the Gap

My goal with this new endeavor is simple: to serve Jesus in all I do, to write for His glory, to encourage the women around me, and to bridge a gap between my Protestant background and my Catholic adoption. So much of what we believe is beautifully synonymous. Even in our differences, we can still find love for our brother and common ground at the foot of the cross. Come find that common ground with me.

~ Melody Ruth