Heart for Truth

My favorite quality about you is that you don't accept easy answers to hard questions, and you always pushed for real, authentic, raw conversation.

Dear Ruth, A memory of you I desire to share. We ran into each other at the Bank of America Corp HQ one day. You were about to go up to the executive floor and do what you do best - Influence others to do something you know in your heart is right. At that moment I thought this: Thank you dear Heavenly Father for putting people like Ruth on the face of the earth to carry the flag of Biblical truth wherever she goes, especially as a public servant. Thank you for giving us a taste of heaven - God bless you dear sister.

I remember teaching Sunday School in my early days as an intern at Uptown, wondering if I had enough material, and thinking "Oh, Ruth's in that class. She'll ask a tough question and that'll be good for a few minutes of discussion.

From the moment I met you Ruth, I knew there was something special about you. Initially I was most struck with how brilliant you are. I was so impressed with how articulate you are and how you could argue a point and be so right and so clear. As I got to know you more, I saw your servant's heart. In politics, your positions never wavered from your firm beliefs, yet you compassionately articulated them. We need more people like you involved in the public sphere. On a personal level, you have always treated me like a close friend, even before you knew me that well. You will always be someone I admire and want to emulate. You are so much like Ruth in the Bible--faithful and true to the people you serve. And you are the epitome of my favorite Mary Kay Ash quote: "The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang." You always set the perfect example for the rest of us to follow. I love you and always will.

Ruth you are an amazing woman, a trailblazer. I want to thank you for the courage you showed getting Pro-Life legislation passed to protect women and save babies.

Ken and Ruth, Michael and I only knew you for the brief years (2010-2011) we were at Uptown with you, but your Godly influence in our lives is something we still talk about. I was always blown away and encouraged to memorize more scripture being around Ruth because the Bible freely came off her tongue. It was a beautiful testament of her strong faith. I will never forget the way she spoke or prayed. I desire to be like Ruth! She was hilarious, sharp, kind, and cared so deeply for others.

You've been given many gifts including an amazing ability to listen, to hear, to understand and to speak clear and gentle truth into many lives.

Ruth, One of my first memories is of you teaching Scripture to kids at my neighborhood Backyard Bible Club. I have always been struck and impressed by your personal commitment to memorizing Scripture. From hosting the weekly Bible study and other church events to serving a a county and state representative, you have invested your gifts and talents for the benefit of many. Thank you for serving as God's "good and faithful servant".

Although you did many good things as a legislator and in House leadership, your leadership to champion the passage of the Woman's Right to Know Bill will be something I will remember forever. Your passion for unborn babies and the sanctity of life was on full display, and so was your loving yet firm representation for Jesus Christ. I will never forget when you presented the bill on the floor of the House. You explained the bill clearly and passionately, and then lots of pro-abortion women legislators stood up to question your motives, question your womanhood, question your faith, question your compassion for women facing tough choices. You were unflappable. Although you felt compassion for women facing tough choices, you were focused on the babies. Their right to have life and your responsibility to speak up for them. I was sitting just above you in the gallery that day. You were fielding questions, insults, and parliamentary maneuvers from other pro-abortion legislators. I felt like you were Joshua fighting the Amalekites, while all of us who were praying in the gallery and across the state were Moses, Aaron, and Hur. You were not afraid to expose your own personal tragedy to help your colleagues see the truth--that unborn babies deserved life, that women seeking an abortion deserved information not coercion, and that making an informed decision was much more compassionate than allowing abortion providers to run roughshod over pregnant women. I was proud of you! I know our Lord in Heaven was proud too. That was courageous, it was bold, and it showed that you fear God more than you fear man.

I will never forget Ruth telling the story about when she prayed about how to run her campaign and she felt like God told her to memorize scripture. Ruth, I will always remember how your heart and mouth have been a fountain of Scripture, reciting, remembering, and believing God's promises and his power, his kindness and his love. Thank you for living a life submitted to and empowered by God's word.

How blessed I was to meet you during our shared experience in Leadership North Carolina, Class XIII. From the get go, you were the natural leader in our class - quiet, but confident; articulate, but relatable; wise, but teachable. I remember specifically our time in Wilmington - the environmental segment - when I rode in your Prius to the Chancellor's house and I was so impressed that you being "so hip" with that car. I had never heard of a Prius - always a woman ahead of the times. And then to watch your rise in the NC Legislature - skyrocketing to positions of leadership and influence - I was so proud of you, a woman leader in our state. Thank you for all that you have done - for me personally; for our LNC class; for our state. I so admire you and am so thankful that I can call you my friend. Much love. Much gratitude.