Family Focus - Ruth Beck is now Ruth Van Hovel

This past May, our church had the opportunity to come together for the very special wedding of someone close to our hearts here at Grace Fellowship. You may have known her as Ruth Beck, now Ruth Van Hovel; Administrator and Assistant to Mark Page. She has touched the lives of so many in our community and this month we would like to highlight her very personal story of finding faith and love...

July 2010

"I had heard Elizabeth Elliot on a radio program define courage as not the absence of fear but the willingness to walk through it. Those words came back to me 10 years later as I was facing the decision to move back to Orange County and take a job at Grace as Mark’s assistant. Though Grace had been my home church back in the 80’s, returning alone to Orange County to establish a new life held a lot of anxiety for me. Through the encouragement of family and friends, I prayerfully decided in October 2006 that with God’s help I would walk through the fear.

The discipline of resting in the truth that God works all things in our lives for good, no matter how difficult or painful they may be, was deeply challenging during this period. But despite my lack of trust, the Lord was faithful and used the painful circumstances of my life to bring me to Grace and to grow me and encourage me in ways I never could have imagined. The steady, loving support I received from family, staff members and the church body was incredible. During this season a deep conviction grew that the Lord is attentively and lovingly at work in the lives of His people even when circumstances seem to point to the contrary.

At times I imagine that the Lord chuckles as He surprises us with gifts of His extravagant grace. Last spring while attending a small Biola University reunion party I was reintroduced to a man that I had known over 25 years before from my old college days. Neither of us had been on the original invitation list, and both were hesitant to attend, but God was at work fulfilling His plan. That wonderful man, John Van Hovel, soon became a good friend, a Christian companion and then a year and a half later, my husband. Books have been titled “Surprised by Grief”, “Surprised by Joy”, and “Surprised by Hope”... we would title ours “Surprised by Grace”.

Our wedding day was a gift of love from the Grace church family and John and I would like to express a genuine, deep gratitude to all who participated. My dear friend, Wendy Turney, not only donated her beautiful home for the ceremony and the reception, but she also functioned as a wedding coordinator while I was busy at work and preparing to move to Temecula. Emily Owen created the gorgeous invitations; several women worked a full day decorating and preparing the flowers; Mark performed the ceremony; Katie Scott played the cello as my son Erik walked me down the aisle; Scott & Joel Owen played while Carrie Virtue sang one of my favorite choruses “Lord You’re Beautiful” and Kelly Beck, my daughter in law, sang my favorite hymn “Be Thou My Vision”. Many more people from the church, too many to name, demonstrated their love by helping with the potluck reception which was kicked off by my dad, Bill Beck, with a toast to the grace of God in our lives, AMEN! These acts of love and kindness made the day especially meaningful for John and myself. Through His people, God has shown Himself to be loving, gracious, faithful and wise over and over again.

Now that I’m a married woman and a new step-mom to a cool junior high boy, CJ, I’ll be cutting back my work hours at Grace to part-time status. I love my job and the people at Grace and look forward to serving more in the future but I’m also looking forward to a new ministry God has given me with my new family and neighbors.