I didn't want to go.

In fact, I flat-out refused to go to the ER for four whole days. I was convinced I just had the flu. Oh sure, I was practically delirious with a high fever, chills, body aches, and every other awful thing you can think of—but I'm stubborn, and I don't love doctors, and I figured I could just tough it out.

But by day four, I could barely walk. I was so out of it I could hardly think. And finally, my husband Chuck put his foot down. "We're going," he said, and this time I didn't argue.

I had nothing left in me.

At the ER, they ran all the tests, and it turned out it wasn't the flu at all. It was a severe kidney infection—bad enough that I was pretty close to going septic. They pumped me full of antibiotics (which I hate, by the way, because they destroy your gut biome), gave me more pain meds, and sent me home to rest.

It turned out to be one of the scariest health things I've ever experienced, mostly because I didn't even realize how serious it was until it almost went too far. All my fight was gone. 

And to be honest, it felt like the final straw in a season that has already been so heavy—stress, setbacks, overwhelm, frustration. This just felt like the icing on the crap cake.

But then...the weekend came.

Chuck had planned a small birthday party for me. Nothing fancy—just a few close friends from our old neighborhood, nothing over the top. But what made it so special was that three of my very best friends, who now live out of state, actually flew in for the weekend. 

And despite the fact that I had been sick all week, which gave us zero chance to prepare, it all somehow came together.

My friend George made this incredible smoked Wagyu brisket and smoked cream cheese with bacon jam (yes, it was as amazing as it sounds). Chuck whipped up his signature deviled eggs. My youngest daughter Annie made homemade mac and cheese. And just when I thought my heart couldn't take any more joy, my older daughter Maggie showed up. She drove all the way from college in Tallahassee to surprise me—she got there just in time for the birthday cake!

We had our first rain in months, so we all ended up on the screened porch, where we put a fire in the fireplace and I reveled in the sound of rain on the tin roof, and the warm buzz of laughter and friendship all around me.

It was simple. It was perfect. And it felt like exactly what my soul needed.

But the moment that really undid me was when my friend Beth handed me a little gift. It was a trucker hat that said, "You Are So Loved."

She said when she saw it, she just knew I had to have it.

And something about that—about her seeing me so clearly in a season where I've felt so overwhelmed and, honestly, a little forgotten—just broke me wide open.

Because the truth is, I didn't even realize how much I needed to hear that. That I'm loved. That I'm not alone. That God hasn't abandoned me, even if sometimes it's felt like He has.

Christine Caine once said, "Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but actually you've been planted." Along those same lines, someone else wisely noted that "You are loved more deeply than you know, by a God who never stops chasing after your heart."

In other words? You’re never forgotten.

Even when life feels impossibly heavy, even when you're overwhelmed and exhausted and sick and wondering if God is even listening...love shows up. Sometimes in big ways. Sometimes in tiny, quiet moments. But it shows up.

And it doesn't usually look like perfection or Pinterest. Sometimes it looks like deviled eggs and a smoky brisket. It looks like rain on a tin roof and people who fly across the country just to be there. It looks like a daughter walking in the door just in time for cake. It looks like a trucker hat with four simple words:

You are so loved.

If you're in a hard season right now, please hear me when I say this: God has not forgotten you. You are not alone. You are loved more than you know.

And maybe, just maybe, you need to remind someone else of that this week too.

So that's my challenge for you this week: who in your life needs to hear it? Who needs to know they're seen and loved and not alone? Send the text. Make the call. Show up. Or maybe you're the one who needs the reminder—let this be it.

Live with purpose, friend, and have an amazing week!

xoxo, Ruth

P.S. Have you ever had a moment like that—where someone showed up for you in exactly the way you needed, even if you didn't know you needed it? Hit reply and tell me. I'd love to hear your story!

This week’s podcast episode…

What’s cooking in my kitchen…

Here’s the recipes I shared last week:

The latest from my Instagram…

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