You know what? I bet when you sit down with somebody who are real long meal and you're

getting to know them and you swap all the stories about your life and you go through the

whole thing and they go through theirs, I bet every one of you has got a couple of calls

to adventure that you skipped, that you resisted and that you regret skipping. I also bet

many of you have some calls to adventure that you are glad you did not pursue.

I also bet that for most of us, when we think about the story of our lives, the big turn

of events, the big moments that changed everything all have to do with us either responding

to a call to adventure or resisting a call to adventure. That is sticking with the status

quo and staying with what's comfortable and safe and that we know, which sometimes is

a good call versus going and seizing an opportunity or following through on an invitation

that takes you to new and unexplored places. Likewise, Queen Esther finds herself in

that position here in Esther chapter 4. Mordecai, the Jew, wouldn't bend the knee to the

Heyman who is descended from the age old enemies of the Jews and Heyman, when he finds

out, isn't satisfied to just kill one Jew, the offending Jew, he wants to kill them all.

So he uses his capital that he has saved up with the king to get the king to issue an

ill-advised edict to say, we're going to have all of the Persian citizenry turn on another

part of the Persian citizenry and kill all of them on one pre-appointed date. Mordecai

goes into mourning, the Jews go into mourning, Susa goes into bewilderment, and eventually

Queen Esther, who is within the walls of the seed of power from which the edict was issued,

she finds out she didn't know. And when some of her maids come and whisper to her what's

going on, she doesn't understand why Mordecai would be upset. And so she offers them clothes

secured. You just need better clothes or something. Mordecai is like, no, it's a bigger

...