Pleasant to Bitter and Back

Pleasant.

Naomi means pleasant. Life has a way at times of changing the pleasant, not simply to unpleasant, but to bitterness. It happened to Naomi in the Story of Ruth.

Naomi lost her husband and her two sons to death. As a result, she changed her name, holding God responsible.


"It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD'S hand has gone out against me! Don’t call me Naomi, call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

Mara means bitter. The once pleasant Naomi has become bitter, bitter about life, bitter toward God.

She doesn’t lose her faith, however, and God, working through the people who surround her, doesn’t give up on her. He keeps blessing and she keeps seeing it. The bitterness slowly goes away.

Before the story is over Mara becomes Naomi again.

It took a while. Seems like it usually does.