Ruth 1 & 2

The last few weeks I have been studying the book of Ruth - the story of "Hope, Trust, Faith - When we don't understand God's plan"  as the 'Ruth' movie on Netflix starts out by saying...
(I've done some extra research also...Bible Commentaries and Netflix movies, etc.).

Ruth 1:
Naomi's family (Naomi, her husband and two sons) moved to a new country to live:
  - they had to learn a new language
  - they had to learn new customs
  - it was probably a lot harder back them for women to make friends outside of the family so until her sons married she probably had few other women to talk to

All the men died after 10 years
After the men died she goes home and her two 'daughters' start to go too.
She tells them to go home:
  - she knows how hard it is to adjust to a new culture/language, etc. as a woman.  Plus now it will be harder without men to life, find food, be safe, etc.  So she's being considerate and trying to spare her 'daughters' the heartache  OR  She's being selfish and thinking it will be much harder for herself if they come along. There will be more people to look after, more responsibilities, and more reminders of her dead family.
  - Orpah goes home.  Makes me think she 1.) wasn't to fond of her mother-in-law  or 2.) she was really close to her family and friends and realized she didn't want to never see them again after all and saw the logic in Naomi's statements.
  - Ruth begs to say.  So I think 1.) she must have had a horrible family life or nothing/no one to go home to or 2.) She really loved Naomi enough to leave everything and everyone behind or 3.) She was still grieving the loss of her husband and didn't want to let go of her last connection to him - Naomi.

Naomi seems to get mad then and snubs Ruth and stops talking to her.  I bet she hoped if she gave Ruth the silent treatment she'd go home. Naomi had to know it'd be hard to live without a man's help but harder to find someone to support two widows with one being a foreigner, maybe she really was selfishly wanting the girls to go back so it'd be easier on her when she went home. Instead of showing up with two Moabites.

When Naomi gets back she tells her friends, "I am empty and afflicted, call me bitter."  Totally overlooks the blessing that she still has Ruth.  I bet that made Ruth feed really bad.  Way for Naomi to be thankful for her and appreciate her.

Ruth 2:
Ruth has to bed Naomi for permission to go out.  Sounds like Naomi was depressed and locked herself and Ruth away and/or she was hiding Ruth till she figured out what to do with her...but I vote for depressed.

Ruth - looking at the positive and being practical - tries to get food to support them both.

Naomi could have gone and gleaned also - she was a widow too but she didn't.  And you know she wasn't all that "feeble" because she "arose" and was just going to move from Moab to Bethlehem on her own without Ruth's help.    Definitely sounds like she was depressed.

Ruth asked to leave and Naomi said, "Go my daughter" so Ruth ends up going. She left and went and after she went she happened upon Boaz and his fields.

Boaz was a man of God who was well respected. He was observant.
Ruth was a hard worker.
Boaz was compassionate and kind, generous and hospitable.
Ruth - didn't understand why he was being so nice to her. Questioned him.
Ruth - had a good reputation also. She was caring, giving, unselfish.
Boaz - shared his food with her and let her gather with his workers and made sure she had extra - gave her gifts.  He protected her during the harvest.  So Naomi and Ruth were fed and taken care of.

Naomi says, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!"   

 So she receives some blessings, begins to look to God again and her depression starts to go away.
When we look to God and think of others instead of looking at our selves and thinking of ourselves a whole new world of wonderfulness opens up and the deep, dark, depressions go away.