So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. (Ruth 1:7 ESV) Here is the backfill on this story: Naomi emigrated from her homeland to another country and finds ruin, so she decides to head back to where she came from. But the interesting thing here is that Naomi is ready to face everybody she left behind after failing to make a better life for herself. This begins the story of King David. His great, great grandmother is Naomi! Without Naomi going back to Judah, there would be no David, there would be no Solomon, there would be no Mary and Joseph, there would be no Jesus. Moreover, we may never have gotten a chance at salvation had Naomi decided not to go back home. Most of us, if not desperate, cannot possibly face our failures and the jeering of our peers at the same time. “Why did you come back?” they would say sarcastically. And what answer would we have for them? We would hang out heads low and not make any eye contact. But that’s not what Naomi did. Rather, she “set out”, that is, made plans for her return from failure. It is amazing that God, after our failures, allows us to make plans to start again. In fact, it’s more incredible that God, after we disqualify ourselves and return as failures blesses us enough to provide redemption for ourselves and for other people. Don’t sulk in failure, set out from it, even if that means starting over.