Moving Forward - 28 February 2025

FRIDAY, February 28, Anna Julia Haywood Cooper

Ruth 3:14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, “It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

After weeks of Ruth going out and bringing home food, her former mother-in-law, Naomi, takes charge. She tells Ruth how to prepare to meet Boaz, where to go, and what to do. And it’s a risk, both to Ruth’s physical well-being and to her reputation, but it’s a risk they take to survive. And it pays off. Ruth gains a husband, securing provision for herself and Naomi.

Likewise, Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, the saint for today, took risks. Born into slavery, she attended an Episcopal school for freed African Americans. Cooper risked by pushing the leadership for the right to take higher-level classes offered only to men. This risk paid off: she became the fourth African American woman in the United States to receive a doctorate. 

I am not always brave enough to risk danger to reach a dream God gives, but these stories remind me God has walked others along this road, and God will go with me too.

MOVING FORWARD: What will you risk for a dream God has given you?

PRAY for the Diocese of Maiduguri (Nigeria)

Ps 140, 142 * 141, 143:1-11(12) | Ruth 3:1-18 | 2 Corinthians 4:1-12 | Matthew 5:38-48

(Source: Forward Day By Day Movement)