Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman

This past year I (Liz) had the privilege of being involved in a women's Bible study in Girdwood. In the fall the group read and discussed the book, Calm My Anxious Heart, by Linda Dillow. The book was packed full of insights and truths to ponder.

In the spring, the group went through Beth Moore's Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman. Even though most of us were well acquainted with the story of Esther, we came away with many new insights. Here are a few insights from the study:

*Sometimes just surviving certain tasks without falling apart is our best. And in those times God is not ashamed of our performance. What a comforting thought! It seems that oftentimes God is more gracious with us than we (or others) are of ourselves.

*We're never going to fulfill our destiny as long as we hang onto the old self. I have pondered this thought many times. I can't be the person that God is calling me to be unless I am willing to change. I can't help but think of one of my favorite movies, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In the movie, Aragorn (one of the main characters who has been living in fear) is summoned by Elrond (a mighty ruler) to "Put aside the ranger [person living on the fringe]. Become who you were born to be [king]." Through this encounter, Elrond reminds Aragorn that he isn't meant to be a ranger. He is meant to be the king, but he is running from his calling because of fear of failure. Once Aragorn embraces his identity, he finds a new courage and boldness to be the person he was born to be.

*What is more exhausting than waiting? The Lord promises to renew our strength. We will lose our strength when we wait on the event/thing/person/promotion etc. to happen. But we will be renewed if we wait upon the Lord with anticipation and expectation. Wait on the Lord, not on the thing. It is so easy to say, "I will enjoy my life when XYZ happens," but I am finding that true joy happens in the midst of the crucible, not in the absence of trials.

*Extraordinary things happen around us continually. We just don't always recognize them. Great lives don't always seem great while we're living them. Recently, I had a conversation with a few of my fellow Census colleagues. We were talking about the phrase "the good old days." It often seems that we don't appreciate our life and circumstances when we are living them. We don't realize how good our life really is until we are in a different season, then we reminisce about "the good old days." One person said, "So maybe right now is the good old days." Life is a gift and I want to view each day with a thankful heart.

Finally, I was hit with the significance of chiastic structure (reversal of structures to emphasize an overarching point) in Esther. In the book of Esther there were several chiastic structures...

(see http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/files/lwcF_wmn-Esther-VG-Answers.pdf pp. 152-155). For example, the evil plotted against Mordecai (gallows built to hang him) ended up being used against those plotting the evil.

My friend, Laura, is visually demonstrating what chiastic structure looks like.

There are many thoughts from this Bible study that I am still pondering.