On the surface, my work trip to Indonesia in 2017 yielded very little. I was supposed to be recording prayers from locals, but somehow none of the recordings turned out. However, over the course of my time there I found a new objective I wasn’t looking for at the time.
I had no intention of doing a Sparrow project, but the dramatic entrance of Ruth changed my mind. When I arrived, I needed a translator at the very last minute and this need reached the ears of Ruth who was very ill. Apparently, she had been confined to her bed for a significant amount of time. When she heard of my need though, she felt drawn by God to meet me, in spite of her condition. She got out of her bed and said a simple, almost irreverent, prayer: “Enough is Enough Lord.” With those words, she threw up on the ground and met me at the airport.
The first thing I noticed about Ruth was her fearlessness. She told me story after story that exemplified her faith and charity. She had very few possessions she could claim as her own, and she was at peace with that. Her frame was petite but she had enough energy and joy to rival my toddler, and yet, behind her fierce and jubilant exterior, I saw that there was a story of pain. Through her journey, she watched her mother commit suicide, felt the pain of having a child she had raised be taken from her, and experienced persecution for her faith.
As she opened up to me (and the camera), she shared the immense heartbreaks she’d had over the years, and her words served as a sober reminder of how fragile a refuge our comforts are. And yet, apparent and overshadowing her pain, was impossible peace and joy. She devoted her life to become more like Christ. This meant placing the needs of others before her own. Even during the short time I spent with her, I watched as she cared for a woman who was on the brink of death from poverty by providing food and rallying the community around her to care for her.
I learnt from her life about the nature of our walk with God. Though different from person to person, I believe that our journeys as believers share a commonality. Pain and anguish beyond what we think we can bear is inevitable. But we are promised through grace and the cloud of testimonies like Ruth’s that surround us, that God is faithful. We only need to lift our eyes from the road to see that God is good, and therefore, beauty is ever present.
