Posts by Ruth Wood

“I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land” ( Psalm 143:6 ). When my 95-year-old father suffered a stroke, the brain damage caused him to cry out in terror every few minutes. To cope with this uncontrollable urge, he redirected his shouts to praise, thanksgiving, singing, reciting scriptures, and intercessory prayer for...

The tide was coming in that morning as I strolled the Cabo San Jose beach. I followed a popular path along the water’s edge, the dry, rumpled sand cool to my feet. Suddenly a large wave surged ashore. When it receded, I stood still and marveled at the transformation. An unspoiled, pristine beach now stretched before me, as if I’d...

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my...

My parents met in Switzerland on a blind date. Six weeks later they got engaged, and my father returned to America. As a German refugee, my mother had lost everything. The thought of leaving her new life and starting over again was overwhelming, but she navigated the one-year immigration process and then traveled alone to the United States. She trusted...