Good Morning girls!  I love the story of Esther.  It has always been one of my favorites.  I must confess though that every time I read it, I think to myself "what about Queen Vashti?".  To be honest with you, it always seemed like she got a bum deal.  Seriously, if my husband had been having a week long party with all of his buddies, and they had all been doing "whatever they please", and in his drunken state he ordered me to come in and parade around for his drunk friends, you better believe I would not have gone!  In fact, I think Vashti had a lot of grace because I probably would've stormed into the party and told them all off.  So, I always wondered why she got the boot and was never mentioned again.  Last week, I read the story again, and it bothered me more than before.  I did 2 things.  I prayed to the Lord for revelation, and I called a friend and asked her to read it and get back to me (I'm still working on patience, so I needed to feel like I was hitting both angles!).   Monday night I was doing dishes and the Lord gave me the answer.  Simply "it wasn't about her".  I opened one of my kitchen drawers and there on top was one of my manna cards from 2005.  It had the verse that described the very situation.  You see, God had a plan.  That plan required Esther to be the Queen.  Whether or not what Vashti did was right  was irrelevant.  God needed her out, so Esther could be in.  That is an important lesson for us all to understand.  I know there are times when we are doing everything right, and still it appears that we "get the boot", and lose our position.  The first thing we do is question ourselves and ask "what did I do wrong".  Sometimes the answer is simply nothing, because it is not about you.  It is about Gods plan.  Gods plan may require you to lose your position for a time, so that someone else can be in "for such a time as this".  I went online and did some research about Queen Vashti, and there are mixed reports about her, but many reports say that she regained her status as Queen mother when her son became king.  That also is an important lesson.  If you lose your position , it doesn't mean you have lost it forever.  You may very well get it back after Gods will has been fulfilled.

Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say: my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please

Love you all-
Jen