Ella and Ruth lived in different times and had some very different challenges yet their lives illustrate the assessment, which Ella was quoted to have uttered, “It doesn’t matter where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts.” Let’s explore where they came from and how they made their lives count.

Ella

Born in Newport News, Virginia in 1917 into poverty. As a young girl Ella was exposed to formal music in church and was passionate about dancing. Her parents were separated when she was an infant. Her mother died of a heart attack when Ella was 15 years of age. After the death of her mother she was abused by her stepfather.

She was taken in by her aunt in Harlem. She was a good student although it seemed dealing with her mother’s death caused her grades to plummet. Soon she dropped out of school. She was placed in a Colored Orphan Asylum.  She got involved with the wrong side of the law, as a lookout at a brothel, and “running numbers” for illegal gambling.

Then she ended up in a reformatory for girls in upstate New York. The reformatory was an attempt to correct the situation created when youth became victims of poverty, abuse, and family disruption. The reformatory became another place where she was abused. She remained there for more than one year. When she left the reformatory she was homeless. All of this before Ella was out of her teens.

You may know her better by the more than 40 million she earned in her lifetime from record sales. She recorded over 200 albums, and 2,000 songs. She was awarded 13 Grammy Awards, the NAACP Image Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

True to her quote, “It doesn’t matter where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts” Ella Fitzgerald almost never spoke publically about where she came from.

Ruth

Born before Christ, and a descendant of people known as Moabites, she lived in the area just east of the Dead Sea. Her early life was wrought with oppressive ruler ship and famine. Her husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law were killed in battle. The Moabites were pagans believing in human sacrifices to their gods. They offered up their babies sacrificially.

Moabites were the offspring of Moab. He was one of the sons born through an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters. His daughters, after their mother was turned to a pillar of salt as the family exited Sodom, somehow believed the family line would not continue unless they were impregnated by their father. So they made him drunk and did what they thought necessary to continue their father’s lineage.

From those beginnings the young Ruth listened to her mother-in-law, allowing her to teach her the ways of her land, and her God. By following that wise council Ruth was able to meet and marry a strong ruler. After enduring about a decade of famine she no longer had to struggle. Late in life she gave birth to a son, Obed.

You may know her mother-in-law was Naomi, her husband Boaz and her great, great-grandson, giant-slayer, David. Boaz and Ruth lived happily ever after. From this line of descendants came Jesus the Christ. Ruth became an example of love, loyalty, determination and obedience. An entire book of the Old Testament was written about Ruth.

Regardless of where she came from she made her destination count. ”It isn’t where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts.”

You

Knowing the roots and legacy of these two women is valuable no matter what your gender. We each have our own imperfect roots. When we are able to look behind us enough to see where we came from it can certainly empower us to move forward. It is well stated in an African Proverb called Sankofa, which means, “Remember where you came from so that you know where you are going.”

We were created for a life of purpose by a loving God.

Where are you going? What is your ultimate destination? Are you looking in the rearview mirror or are you using what you have experienced to move you forward? Are you seeking God and His will for your life?

“It isn’t where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts.”

Take Inventory and Take Action!

Love,

Deborah

“Lighting the path to loving your neighbor as yourself.”