Ruth 1:8-9

And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 

Naomi's husband Elimelech had died, and so had her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Both sons had married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi's plight looked bleak, because all of her resources were gone. She had no husband or sons to support her, and for ten years, she had been living in a land with no extended family of her own. Once she found out that the famine in her hometown of Bethlehemjudah was over, she decided to move back there. At the very least, she would be near extended family. Her daughters in law packed up and started the journey alongside her. But Naomi suddenly changed her mind, and discouraged her daughters in law from making the trip. She explained to them that they needed to go home to their parents' homes. She wished them well, and encouraged them by telling them what good wives they had been to her two sons. She loved these young women dearly and wanted the best for them. She even told them that she hoped they would remarry. Then she kissed them, and openly wept over them. 

Naomi was the model of what every woman should aspire to become. She was obviously a faithful wife to her husband. She followed him away from their hometown during the famine, because they needed to find food to sustain their family. Naomi was obviously a good mother to her sons. I would venture to guess that those two young men desired wives who reminded them of their mother. Naomi's two sons took wives from the Moabite community. More than likely, these young women came into this Israelite family and adjusted to their lifestyle. They were good wives to Naomi's sons, which means they probably did not practice the Moabite culture, which was rooted in sexual misconduct. They had a good role model in their mother in law. The relationship between these women had to be good, otherwise they would not have wanted to follow her back to her hometown, a strange land where they had no community. 

The parting scene in verse 9 was an emotional one. Naomi had developed a relationship with her daughters in law that none of them wanted to end. This is rare in mother in law/daughter in law relationships these days. I have seen, more times than not, friction between mothers and their sons' wives. I watch my own mother look at my brother's wife with disdain, even after 30 years and five kids. The enemy of our souls prefers to see mothers compete with their sons' wives to maintain animosity within the family unit. Despite this, I have been encouraged by a really good friend who has three adult sons. My friends' sons are all married with children. Over the years, I have watched my friend mentor, console, and love her daughters in law as if they were her own daughters. She is a Naomi in my eyes and I aspire to be a Naomi when the time comes for my son to take a wife.