Ruth said [to Naomi],
"Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
Where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
-Ruth 1:16
The situation was tragic: a woman who lost her husband to death years earlier now has lost her two sons. She is alone. Only her daughters-in-law remained, and she encourages them to go home to their own families.
One does. The other stays. Her name was Ruth. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, was returning home to Bethlehem from. And Ruth would go with her. The prospects she faced in this foreign land were bleak. Yet her commitment was unshakable.
Some couples use these words in their marriage vows to illustrate their commitment to each other. They are beautiful words of devotion. Yet they weren't originally spoken of the strong bonds of marriage. They reflect a choice Ruth made freely and willingly and wholly to her mother-in-law, now her sister.
This is the highest form of love and friendship. Bonds like this can give stability, support, hope, and true meaning in life. Have you made a commitment like this to anyone?