Chapter Two: There She Goes-- Miss Persia!

I love thinking about mundane days now. How interesting is it to think we have no idea where we will be in 10 years. We don’t know what tomorrow looks like. The people we are sharing our thoughts with and this blog with, some of us didn’t even know each other a couple of years ago. Can you think of monumental days when you woke up, got dressed, brushed your teeth, ate cereal only for that night to go to bed in a completely different mindset and thinking of things that rocked your world???

It amazes me to think that God is with me, right now, at work, in. my. life. Right now, my life is not spectacular. It’s an organized mess of chaos, more than anything that should be looked at as spectacular or wow. I get up. Go to work. Interact with people. Come home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

CS does a fantastic job at pointing out how incredibly significant events come out of trivial monotonous days.  I LOVE on page 22 where he sets the scene for Christ’s return. “Morning rush-hour traffic will choke the freeways.” For it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 that the “day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” We will simply not know He is coming.

Also, think of it this way (in a loose sense). Humor me. It’s like we know who Prince William is. I mean, he’s cute (I personally am more of a Harry fan). He is of noble blood. But we know we will probably never meet him, and are just living out our lives doing what we know to do.

 But then all of a sudden, this Tuesday (a seemingly mundane day of the week) you are forced by your parents to go for ONE YEAR away with a bunch of random women and prepare to meet this prince in hopes that he likes the way you look and marries you. But if he doesn’t choose you to be his queen, you will probably just become part of his harem anyway. And to think, that Tuesday morning you got up, got dressed, brushed your teeth, ate your cereal like every other day.

The people we meet and interact with everyday, the choices we make every moment, are all part of His plan. His tapestry. And we are only a thread. He Is Sovereign.

One thing I really enjoy about the story of Esther is really trying to relate to her life. Can you imagine what she felt? Can you imagine leaving for a year to go and prepare to be a Queen? And possibly marry a man whom she never personally met or held a conversation with? We don’t even know! Or what about Queen Vashti? I have a lot of admiration for her. I mean, I would venture to guess that by her rejecting the King’s request at that time would be incredibly risky. But the decision she had to make… to go and listen to the king, her husband at a cost to her character and dignity, or deny him and risk possibly her life!!

On page 30 CS takes us to Isaiah and reminds us of God’s timing. And on 31 he again reminds us of God’s sovereignty. I take great comfort in Proverbs 21. How God holds every leader, ruler, boss, teacher in His hand. Think of those people. God has complete control over them. Like Emma said last week, God crushed Nebuchadnezzar so that he would ultimately find Him. He has our best interest at heart, and we are to work constantly to glorify Him. He is our Father. Our Dad. He Is Sovereign.

On page 34 he points out the importance of a wife and the wonderful role of a wife. With this I think of course to Proverbs 31. Also Ephesians 5:22-33: “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which is the Savior… Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless…”

After returning from war and defeat, Xerxes doesn’t want any woman, he wants a wife. And the role of a wife is a very powerful role. They can build up their husband but can also tear him down. (Can’t WAIT to see how Esther is used in Xerxes’ life even!!) Notes on this to come!!!

Also, before I close (sorry long post again) I wanted to point out what CS says on page 37 and how we need to be the salt and light of the world. I have heard this numerous times but have never really understood exactly what it means. I found THIS link that explains it…  but in a nut shell:

“When we want to stress a person’s worth we often say that he or she is the salt of the earth. In the ancient world, salt was highly valued. The Greeks called salt divine. Salt performs two important functions. It is the commonest of all preservatives. It keeps things from going bad. For millions of people in the world, salt still has this purpose. In the second place, salt gives taste and flavor to food. Food without salt is insipid.

The Christian’s task is to be the salt of society, preserving, reconciling, adding taste, giving meaning where there is no meaning, giving hope where there is no hope.

We are also called to be the light of the world. The New English Bible translates: ‘You are the light for all the world’. It means we are to be light in all aspects of the world’s life. It also means we are to be light for all the people of the world.”

I’ll never forget one of the greatest prayers a friend ever prayed with me.  She prayed with me that the people I was about to meet would see Jesus in me. What a thing to pray for. Wouldn’t our days change if we prayed and lived and act hoping that people would see Jesus in us? I know as women we love to feel loved and to feel beautiful. Can you imagine the beauty people would see in us if they saw Jesus in our smiles, in our eyes, in our hugs, our laughter, our speech? I pray hoping that people will see Christ in me in all aspects, and will do the same for you!

loveandprayers