“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

This week has been a peaceful one in Gembu.  A re-vote is tomorrow and people are already wondering how that may go.  Yesterday I got to have a lovely conversation with Grace.  Grace is my Nigerian friend who encourages me in so many ways!  She is a counselor and works with teaching and training and helping children.  She is also very active and in women leadership in her church.  We were talking about getting the AWANA program started here in Gembu and how that will look in the churches as well as the Days for Girls Project and how that will shake out possibly.  We discussed ways on how we need to approach the training aspect on reproductive health, etc.

I have also been taking a class from the University of Copenhagen on Global Health.  We discussed some of the issues in health here and how things are slowly changing from one generation to the next in Nigeria.  After Grace left and I was left in the after-glow of a wonderful discussion, I started thinking about one of my very favorite stories to teach children.  This story is very powerful and I would always tell my pre-schoolers that God makes us all for a purpose and if we don’t do what God wants us to, someone else gets to do it and we are the one that loses out.  Well, you may have guessed it, but the story is Esther, Esther is such an awesome book!

Think of this in a day and age where women are not valued, she finds herself Queen!  Her Uncle Mordecai has been her wise mentor, adviser and guide and he says these words to her, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Her response, “If I perish, I perish”.  Wow!  God could have possibly used someone else to save the Jews at that time, but SHE chose to do what God was leading her to do.  We have a choice in life these days and most of the time it is not a life or death choice.  We can choose to “Bloom where we are planted”.  To join God where He is working and sometimes do the hard stuff.  When we do the hard stuff, are we complaining or pointing it out to everyone how hard it was  ( That is a little wilty if you ask me!)  I believe God asks us to, in whatever circumstance, listen and obey.  Join Him where He is already working!  Sometimes we can’t even see where that is because our own agenda gets in the way.  Esther put down roots and bloomed where she was planted and God used her mightily!

The picture I used today I took on our compound.  Look at this beauty!  The ground it is growing in is packed solid, like rock, but look at how beautiful it is!

My point for today is this:  What is your circumstance today?  Are you blooming where you are planted?  Are you in the seedling stage, waiting to be planted in Gods’ garden?  How are you doing with that?  People it is our choice!