Day 20 of Advent and God’s Gift.
Bible reading: Esther 4:10-17
image from One Night with the King, 2006, directed by Michael O. Sajbel
Esther is my favorite Old Testament book and this is my favorite passage. . .”For such a time as this.”
God’s plans and thoughts are higher than our own. We have no way of knowing or understanding what He orchestrates when we are in the thick of it. But we can have peace–wholeness–knowing that where and when we are can be for His glory in such a time as this.
Esther faced the unknown with this peace, granting her tenacity to address the king and possible death. She did not deny her Father. And He had her in an environment that would reveal His power.
Thoughts for today:
In your season of waiting, is God asking you to step out in faith to face an uncertainty?
We may not understand why God has us where He does at the moment. It could be a job, a relationship, a medical condition. But we can be certain that He is granting us the power to glorify Him in this time.
Seasoned 
Twelve Pounds Heavy
June 8, 2022
tistheczn Life in General comments, high school, offhand, parent, power, teacher, weight, weight loss, Words 1 Comment
Thirty years ago my tenth grade PE teacher told me I should lose 12 pounds. I was five foot almost ten inches and weighed 162 pounds. I remember this precisely because it made the numbers “pretty”.
I didn’t need to lose any weight.
But I have managed to pinpoint that exact moment as to when the number started to carry weight.
He was a teacher. Surely, he knew what he was talking about.
And I have spent the better part of the last thirty years chasing that twelve pounds. When will the number be “pretty” enough? When will the PE teacher in my head not say that?
The truth is the PE teacher will never stop saying it. But I can stop listening to him. I can stop giving him so much power. He was a jerk to say that to me. {Honestly, he was a jerk for a lot of other reasons, too–nothing illegal or immoral, please don’t misunderstand. Just a jerk of a man.}
I thought about this moment often in my twenty years in the classroom. I think about it now when I talk to Peter. The power that man’s words had simply because of his position. I wonder how many students I inadvertently labeled myself as a jerk to because of an offhand comment. I wonder what kind of weight Peter is going to carry because of the things I say to him.
I mean, here I am thirty years later still trying to lose twelve pounds…ok, it’s more than twelve pounds now and I do really need to shed the weight for my health. But caring about the specific number, that is what a sophomore encounter did.
Weighty.