Many have been blessed by the letters of Ruth Bryan, for she continually pointed people back to Christ. Here in her diary, one sees that same dedication as she continually points her own heart back to Jesus. Scattered throughout her entries, she likens herself to her biblical namesake, Ruth the Moabitess. Ruth Bryan reckons herself a meagre gleaner in the fields of the gracious, loving, and greater Boaz, Jesus Christ. Observing the inner life of Ruth Bryan is a reminder to all believers of the boundless mercies of Christ, for what are we that such 'handfuls of purpose' should be dropped for us?

'Throughout the letters of Ruth Bryan, it will be seen that her grand aim was to set forth Christ in his fullness, and to turn the spiritual eye from self and every other object to him, as the one way to pardon, peace, and holiness.' — Alexander Moody Stuart


Ruth Bryan (d. 1860) stands in a class of great female devotional writers, such as Anne Dutton and Mary Winslow, whose Christ-centered correspondence has helped hundreds of God’s people drink more deeply of the wells of salvation.