Bodie’s response to Rue was not what she had expected.
Rue’s thoughts drowned Bodie’s prayer out as she reevaluated how she got to where she was in her life, that very moment in time:
When Marlon passed, Rue despised the consuming power grief held over her life. As time passed, it became her new norm; a coping mechanism that kept boundaries around her life. This allowed her to comfortably accept the year long platonic friendship she had with Lavelle. Their friendship worked perfectly because he was a good companion whenever she felt like going out, and a simple breath of fresh air when she needed someone to talk to on nights she was finding it difficult to fall asleep. All had been great between the both of them, up until the prior evening when he abruptly ended their friendship.
Rue shook her head out of disgust as she thought: Out of all the men I agreed to be friends with, he would end up being one of Bodie’s relatives! Well, at least Bodie came over tonight to tell me what he had done…come to think about it, everything worked out for the best…
And just like that, Rue no longer desired to push Bodie away anymore. She cleared her mind, humbled her spirit and began listening intently to him interceding on her behalf. As she listened to him cry out to God, every wall she had put up to shield her heart, mind, and soul dissipated.
Rue was tired of pretending that she wasn’t miserable. She was tired of running and ready for a change.
She was tired of crying herself to sleep and being unhappy with life. What she had been doing and how she had been living had not kept her late husband Marlon’s memories alive. Instead, it was choking the life out of her. All of this was a direct result of her refusal to release the past, which held her captive for far too long. Rue was now ready to take her life back; re-establishing a relationship with God was the first step she intended to take in an effort of getting back on track. Secondly, she decided that she was done pushing Bodie away.
This was the pivotal point that changed the trajectory of Rue’s life.
Many years later as Rue sat outside on the deck of her home with Naima and her in-laws, she watched with admiration the loving interaction her husband had with their children as he gave them instructions before allowing them to run off and play. She soaked in her surroundings and felt a great sense of peace.
Bodie looked over at Rue, smiled and mouthed: I Love You. Rue smiled back at him and mouthed: I Love You too. He stood up and walked over to her, then sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him, closed her eyes and whispered within her spirit: thank you God for turning my mourning into dancing and for giving me beauty for ashes…
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
