The swooshing of the laundry is my morning jazz, and the cold blueberry oats are my egg-and-bacon. That’s been my new normal since I’ve become a mom. Now, with the coronavirus shutdown, I have a brand new normal to adjust to. And so do you.
Queen Esther’s life may seem like a short-and-cute fairytale, but she had to constantly adapt and adopt a new normal too. Let’s get absorbed into her story to the point of…
… feeling like an orphan raise by a cousin; [“Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother” Esther 2:7a]
… debating if my beauty was a blessing, or a curse; [“Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king.” Esther 2:2b]
… wondering if I will be rejected in twelve months; [“Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxe, she had to complete twelve months…” Esther 2:12]
… missing the simplicity of being just Hadassah; [“In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem…” Esther 2:14a]
… having to hide my true identity I was raised to be proud of; [“Esther had not revealed her nationality background…” Esther 2:10a]
… living with the threat of my nation being wiped out; [“Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews…” Esther 3:13]
… having the pressure to act in faith, and not react in fear; [“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place…” Esther 4:14]
… wondering if the banquet for the king was creativity, or stupidity; [“…let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.” Esther 5:4b]
… going in front of the king not knowing if that was my last day. [“…for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king has but one law: that they be put to death…” Esther 4:11]
A lifetime cramped in ten chapters can only capture a handful of personal, and national struggles Hadassah had to work through. Her story can be so applicable to us today…
… feeling the ache of our past
… wondering about our looks
… dealing with feelings of rejection
… wishing for simpler days
… hiding behind a false identity
… living under global-health threat
… pressured to be the mature ones
… wondering if our solution will be seen as foolish
… scared for our lives
In spite of Hadassah living in a constant whiplash of mixed emotions, she held tight:
- to her faith “gather all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me…”,
- to her cousin’s counsel “…because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so”,
- and to doing the next right thing “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall.”.
In this new season of social-distancing, we risk of dealing with a whiplash of confusing emotions too. How can I adapt to drastic changes, and adopt courage just like Hadassah?
Like Hadassah, let’s…
ADAPT to our new normal.
How can we use our time to best benefit us spiritually, mentally, physically, even socially?
A family member shared with me her new-normal schedule: She starts her day having coffee with Jesus, then works out in her living room, moves to the kitchen to make herself a yummylicious birthday cake, waters her plants, reads books, and only after 7:00 pm she allows herself to watch the latest news, and end the day with a feel-good movie.
Would a more structured schedule make your day more exciting? (Feel free to add a motivational carrot for the end of the day if necessary.)
Or, maybe you could use less structure and catch up on rest, or long-postponed projects (declutter your mailbox, your office, your wardrobe)?
ADOPT a joyful attitude.
Stay posted on the latest news without losing sight of the Greatest News. Jesus is our only hope. Watching less, and praying more will increase your joy for sure. I can attest to its power.
As I shared in my last post, my father’s temperature stayed at around 39 C (102 F) for 13 days, with severe coughing, no testing available, no medication allowed as a transplant patient, no doctor by his side, and no traveling options due to the country on lockdown. All we did was ask others to pray. Today my father had no fever, is feeling better, and the coughing reduced dramatically. Jesus alone gets the credit.
May the joy of Jesus in us be more infectious than the virus. Watch out for those ‘thieves of joy’ like fear, worry, and discouragement.
Joy’s best friend is Gratitude. Let’s express our thanks even to those still working to keep things afloat: doctors, nurses, drivers, police, guards, cashiers, journalists, …
What attitude changes do we need to make today, in order to avoid regrets at the end of this season?
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV