My mother’s visit to the US. I had realised that mothers in the US showed their children their fathers. I opened up to my mother and inquired more information about my biological father. At the time my father who I knew all my life had died at age at eighty years.
I started explaining to my mother how in the US mothers showed their kids their fathers. They don’t hide about anything any time even when a marriage fails to happen. Both parents get involved in the children’s life activities.
My mother kinly listened and I asked her to feel free to talk more about my biological father. She agreed to my request on one condition that I promise her that I wouldn’t go look for him. She said to me that she lived in fear of him having knowledge that I lived. She hid me from him in that he never knew I lived. I promised not to look for him. She told me his names, his brother’s names and their location, homestead and the clan. She disclosed to me that I was born in a hospital-Presbyterian Tumutumu Missionary Hospital, that she didn’t want me to know I was born in the hospital in case I go to search for my record and learnt the truth of the matter. She gave me the day and month I was born. I knew the year since she had told me the correct year. I was 59 years old when my mother agreed to talk about my birth’s scenario.
My passport had the year I was born but no day or month. I returned my birth certificate to Kenya for correction for the day and month included. For I had many troubles here in the US because I was compelled to say day and month in many places. I had created many different days and months here and there in order to do routine service and forgetting the last one I had created. I Was proud and comforted when I knew my proper date of birth. Today some places call me to clarify my date of birth and proudly say the correct one June 10, 1943. Before then I used to say to the caller, “use the date of birth in your record. I was born on only one day and month of the year 1943. I am the evidence that I was born since I am living.” It was a very irritating argument, but finally the date of birth problem was resolved.
The hospital forms. I was disturbed by the hospital forms with a very long list of all kinds of diseases that I never heard of. That I had to tick the ones that ever happened in my family or I. The forms list these diseases were not there in our hospitals in Kenya in our time. After I did studies in nursing here I had a better understanding of the importance of a long list of diseases on hospital forms. Thus, some diseases live in the family, some congenial, and other blood transmitted. Yet. I miss my biological father’s health history for my kids and their generation to come. My daughter in the health field is very concerned about the unknown health background of my biological father’s health history. For their sake, and their children, and future generations.
I promised my mother I will never look for my biological father and his household. My mother claimed that jealousy people were never late to destroy that which they disliked. My mother supported observation based on the bible. My mother read the Bible consistently and sang her three hymnal books, Nyīmbo Cia Kūinīra Ngai. Nyīmbo cia Kūguna Maroho, and Nyīmbo cia Kīroho. She read the bible and preached it to me. She believed the women should not stand before people in the church and preach and the women must speak in a soft, low-toned voice, have dress code, etc.
New science. My children and their future generations would benefit from new science in place. The ‘gene mopping’ and also ‘gene screening’ of unknown diseases from our ancestors. Again they have the opportunity to preserve their young adults’ kids’ eggs in the gene-bank before they use substances or perform the activities that are considered health hazards.
Naomi faced the first thing, the mixed marriage of her two sons. The first son, Mahlon, married Ruth, and the second son, Chilion, married Ruth’s sister, Orpal. Ruth and Orpah were citizens of Moab. The two sisters had the same ancestors for Lot was a nephew to Abraham (Gen 12:5). The religious differences, Naomi’s family worshiped God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ruth and Orpah, princesses daughters of King Iglon of Moab (Jdg 3:17), worshiped other gods, idols and their lineage was from Lot. Naomi’s family had a moment to sort out things to allow them to assimilate into each other, work together, and live in harmony as one family.
Naomi and daughters’-in-law thrived in friendship and embraced a family union with free communication on a daily basis. The death came to the family, Naomi’s husband died, now Naomi a widow in a foreign land. She was beyond childbearing age and could not remarry to continue her husband’s name in history. Her remaining hope was on her two married sons to continue Elimelich’s name in history. Naomi found that food was no longer an issue, instead she faced loneliness. As she searched for what was next for her when the two sons died (Ruth 1:1-5).
Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, all three women widows, Naomi would not bear other sons to remarry the two daughters to continue the family to inherit Elimelech land. She cannot inherit. The women in her culture didn’t inherit the earth, men did. The same to me. According to the new Kenya law, today the women inherit, but once I remarried Geoffrey I became disconnected from all properties in the first marriage and the children would inherit. A way to protect the children in the former marriage. In a way the widows are freed to remarry because the traditions tie widows to the clan because the husband’s properties especially the land. Also the widow’s children are protected by the Kenya law from the open exploitation of remarrying men interested in what the widow owns and taking away from the widow’s children. The Kenya law has minimized many chaos that happens. It is not to say that there are no cunning widows that would exploit the widower children and take all to her children.
Naomi is lonely. So, she decides to return to her country, luckily, food problems were not there anymore. Naomi had to make the most important decisions of her future life and the lives of her two daughters-in-law (Ruth 1:6-16). She learned her country had food and established the decision to return to her home country, Judah. Naom wise piece of advice to her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, saying to them that her age would not allow her to remarry and have sons to remarry them. And if she would remarry and bear other sons, it would take time for sons to grow up and remarry them.
Naomi wise counsel. Naomi advises her daughters-in-law, the best thing for them to do, she said to them, return to your parents’ home. Ruth optioned to go with Naomi to her country. We can assume that Ruth had extraordinary foresight, she thought out of the box, a global thinker, and the love for her mother-in-law. Ruth stuck with Naomi. Orpah optioned to return home to her parents. Ruth, in Judah, cared for Naomi, Naomi stayed home, Ruth went out to work, gleaned grains from the farm of Boaz (a relative of Naomi) for her and Naomi (Ruth 2:15).
Naomi wisely guided Ruth to marriage, prepared Ruth on how to dress beautifully, and approached Boaz to give a sign indicating the need for a husband (Ruth 3:1-10, NIV). Boaz married Ruth and they had a son, Obed. Naomi became a grandmother to baby boy Obed (Chapter 4). Naomi cared for Obed, her heart consoled in that Obed will inherit the Elimelech land and Naomi will not be an aged, homeless widow. Naomi had a home to dwell forever in the land belonging to her husband. Naomi’s wisdom put her property by Elimelech back to her, she became in the royal family relative, King David’s record goes through Obed and Jesse, and in the lineage of King David came Jesus Christ.
What do we take from Naomi’s life? Naomi paints an ideal mother-in-law and grandmother in our time. Ruth portrays a model of a wise daughter-in-law, a global thinker, and a loving granddaughter-in-law. My take away in the story of Naomi and Ruth is when everything seems not to be working, the self-humbleness, wisdom, love, and care for others very crucial for encouraging one another. When we hit the rock there remains an invisible thin line and God’s help reaches us in a way we cannot see when in a state of despair. When all we know is not working and we come to an end, it is at this point where we stop that God picks up and helps us. The blessings go hand in hand along the dispairs. I have experienced the deaths of my loved ones, my mother who visited us, my spouse who came for further studies at ITC, and my brother who came to study at Kennesaw State University. All buried here in Georgia. At the end of everything it is a new beginning, God taking over and walking with me in the rest of time.
Here are some good sources to read about diaspora dynamics
- Ad. www. aimint.org/usa, African Inland Mission-Missionary Service in African-aimint.org accessed on August 21, 2020.
- Wamagata, E. N. (2007, November 13). Journal of Religious History/Volume 31, Issue 4, accessed August 22, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9809.2007.00689.x
- Mordecai and Haman Bible Study. Study and Obey. Com. Internet. Accessed August 24, 2020.
- David Peach. Welcome to What Christians Want To Know, accessed July 4, 2020, http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/ruth-bible-story-summaryKonstantin Kovshenin. Ruth: A Surprising Conversion. Christ My Covenant; New Covenant Theology, accessed July 4, 2020, http://christmycovenant.com/?p=7581
- Michal Hunt (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 4, “Moab,” pages 882-3). Bibliography for the Study of The Hebrew Book of Ruth Study., accessed July 4, 2020, .http://www agape biblestudy .com/Ruth/Ruth% 20 Bibliography htm
- Rabbinic Richard Hirsh. Ruth, First convert. Reconstructionist Rabbinical College 1299 Church Road, Wyncote, PA 19095 (2015), 2.
- Tamar Meir. Collections Orpah: Midrash and Aggada, accessed July 4, 2020, http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/orpah-midrash-and-aggadahuuuumwwiiimmmmm??????..