WCW

#QUEEN ESTHER

Hey Loves!

I’m back with a new WCW and this week I want to talk about Queen Esther. Queen Esther just like Ruth is one of the only women in the bible to have a whole book dedicated to her. Before Queen Esther became “Queen Esther” she was a Jewish Orphan. Esther was a young Jewish woman living in exile in the Persian diaspora, who through her youth and beauty becomes queen of the Persian Empire, and then by her wits and courage saves the Jewish people from destruction.

Before we get into Queen Esther’s sorrow and joys I want to give you a brief summary of her story. The Book of Esther begins with the Queen Vashti, snubbing the king’s request to meet with her. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, the King fires/divorces her. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select Esther, a comely, young (secretly Jewish) woman who is a part of his harem.

As for her backstory, Esther’s an orphan who was raised by her righteous cousin, Mordecai. When the king came looking for young virgins to possibly fill the role of his new queen, Esther made sure to jump into line. She wins favor with the people in the harem and eventually with the king himself, becoming queen. Moreover, Mordecai helps uncover a plot to kill the king, allowing Esther to warn him in time. This earns him some Brownie points as well.

But all is not well in the king’s courts. When Mordecai refuses to bow down to the evil counselor Haman in the street, the evil, (probably) mustache-twisting counselor decides to engineer a plot to murder all the Jews in the Persian Empire. The plot basically involves Haman going to the king and saying, “I think we should kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire.” And the king says (to paraphrase him), “Alright.”

Haman walks away, twisting his mustache some more (probably), glad that the king has cottoned to his genocidal plans. The king doesn’t know that his own queen is Jewish, because Esther’s been keeping it secret. Mordecai goes and wails outside the palace gates while wearing sackcloth, and Esther fasts for three days before visiting the king.

Esther is worried the king will execute her for visiting him unannounced, but to the contrary he is mellow and pleased. He offers to give her whatever she wants. She asks him to have a banquet for her and Haman the next day. Meanwhile, Haman is excited about the massacre that’s about to happen. He builds a huge gallows to hang Mordecai.

But his hopes are dashed the following morning, when the king remembers how Mordecai saved his life. At the second banquet, Esther asks the king to punish Haman for trying to kill her and her people and the king does. Haman is hanged to death on the same gallows he had built for Mordecai (ironic, indeed). The Jews of Persia massacre all of Haman’s agents and supporters (roughly 75,000 people in all), Mordecai is made into the king’s new counselor, and Purim becomes an official Jewish holiday to celebrate.

Queen Esther’s sorrow was to learn that her husband, the king, had unwittingly placed her life and the life of her people in jeopardy. Her joy was to watch morning turn to celebration once the Jews enjoyed relief from their enemies. Because Esther decided not to stay quiet and trusted God during this crisis she ended up saving her people. Her life can teach us a few lessons.

God works in His own time and season. Esther got her timing right. It was no accident that God placed her to be Queen and have favor with the King in a time like this. Maybe God has put it on your heart to do something for Him. Don’t just jump into it but wait for his time. Joseph was in jail until it was God’s time for him to be released. God will move in His time when we remain faithful and alert to His leading.

Your background does not hinder your future with God. Esther was an orphan. God still exalted her and used her. Some of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen, tax collectors and one was a doctor. Your background does not determine what God can do with you. Your faith does.

Xoxo,

Celina Marie

#BATHSHEBA

This weeks Women Crush Wednesday goes to Bathsheba. Bathsheba is known in the bible for being one of King David’s wifes and giving birth to Solomon who ruled as king after David. But what you probably don’t know is that Bathsheba went through a lot before she secured the title as queen. Bathsheba’s beauty made her victim to a king’s desire. Though it is difficult to discern her true character, she seems to have found the courage to endure tragedy, winning the king’s confidence and eventually securing the kingdom for her son Solomon. Her sorrow was to have been molested by a supposedly godly man, who then murdered her husband and later had to suffer the lost of her son.  Before I go into why I picked her as my WCW I’m going to give you a brief summary on Bathsheba and King David.

Their story goes like this…..One day, David watches a woman bathing from the rooftop of his palace. He summons the woman, Bathsheba, and has sex with her, and the woman becomes pregnant. Unable to disguise his indiscretion, David sends her husband, Uriah, to die on the battlefield. David marries Bathsheba, but Nathan confronts the king about his wrong doing. Nathan tells a parable about a wealthy man who steals a poor man’s only prized sheep. David is outraged by such selfishness, and Nathan informs David that the parable is about him. Nathan predicts that God will bring calamity on David’s household. David repents for his wrongdoing, but, despite his fasting and praying, Bathsheba’s son dies during childbirth. Afterward, David and Bathsheba have another son, Solomon.

When reading this story I was confused on why Bathsheba had to suffer along with the man who molested her and murdered her husband. Though the story gives us little insight into her true character, it is hardly likely that Bathsheba was in a position to refuse the king. In Nathan’s parable she is depicted as an innocent lamb. Why, then, have so many people painted her has a seductress? Maybe Bathsheba’s innocence is too painful to face. That a good person can suffer such tragedies at the hands of a Godly person, appalls us. Worse yet, God punishes both of them and takes their son. If we can believe that Bathsheba had an affair with David, we can accept her suffering more easily. Though Bathsheba may not have understood the reason for her suffering, God gave her favor with King David, making her both a powerful queen and a mother of David’s successor, Solomon, who became famous for his great wisdom.

What we can learn from Bathsheba story is; If you have suffered abuse, whether sexual, physical, or emotional, don’t burry your feelings, absorbing the shame and guilt that belong to the abuser. Determine, as Bathsheba did, that you will not let someone else’s sin ruin your life, learn the skills of a survivor. Even if you never been abuse but might know someone pray that God will restore their hope. No situation is greater than God, though, Bathsheba didn’t deserve what happened to her she gave her worries to God and with them he restored her faith and made her queen.  This goes to show that God can change any situation for the better!

xoxo,
Celina Marie

 #RUTH

I want to start doing something a little different with my blog. When I first started this blog I had intentions of it not just being a fashion blog but a blog that also gives motivation and encouragement. Somewhere along the line I lost site of that ( or just got lazy) and stuck to strictly fashion. I came up with the idea of doing a Women Crush Wednesday post every Wednesday but instead of the post being about some pretty girl wearing barely anything, I decided I want my WCW to be a inspirational women from the bible. So this week’s WCW goes to Ruth one of the only women in the bible to have a whole book dedicated to her. Ruth is known as a women of integrity. When given the choice to go back to her roots and be with her own family after her husband died, she choose to stay and take care of her bereaved mother in law. She remained faithful by doing menial work to provide for her and Naomi. Her character was on display at home, at work and in her community. She remained the same and consistent in all areas of her life. Because of this God redeemed her  through Boaz, even though to many she may have seemed un worthy.

God desires for us to see Ruth and Boaz’s union as an example of how he “notices”, loves and redeems each of us, especially those who feel as though life has ravaged all promise and purpose. Ruth was a women who lacked the right pedigree, position and purity that most people would have expected a man like Boaz to desire. She was not Jewish, but a foreigner. She was not a virgin but a widower. She was not wealthy and was less than a servant girl.  Yet, she obtained favor from an honorable man who loved her wholeheartedly and willfully provided, protected, covered, prayed for, and ultimately redeemed her. Boaz loved Ruth because of her character and her heart. We are expected to learn from her story and to follow her example by genuinely submitting to Jehovah God whom she trusted her present and her future with. So to the woman who feels that your situation is so dire and your past so shameful, that no one is equipped to love someone like you be encourage! Because just like Ruth, God to has your Boaz waiting for you.

xoxo,
Celina Marie