“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us” (The Fellowship of the Ring).
Perhaps you are daunted by the complexity of the issues facing us at the moment. Perhaps you wonder how you, one person, can make a difference. Perhaps you feel constrained by personal or professional circumstances that seem to make it impossible for you to speak up or act out. Perhaps you are frightened, or weary, or despairing. Perhaps you are here for such a time as this anyway.
[Mordecai said,] “If you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” – Esther 4:14 (NRSV)
Esther was one of the king’s wives, but the law forbade her from speaking to him. Raising her voice against the oppression of her people should have been dangerous. But her uncle challenged and encouraged her with the words from today’s scripture. Perhaps you are who you are and where you are for such a time as this, he said.
Do you perceive Mordecai’s voice? It’s still echoing, still challenging, still calling in and calling out. You (yes, you!) are exactly where and when you need to be. We do not choose the times into which we are born. But, like Esther, we can choose what we do with them.
Prayer ~ Holy God: We are here, now. Use us, we pray. Amen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rev. Jennifer Garrison (formerly Brownell) is a writer, spiritual director and pastor living in the Pacific Northwest. Her published work most recently appeared in the book The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, available from The Pilgrim Press.