Communication

Gleaning From The Book of Esther

by Janice S Ramkissoon 
10/03/25
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“Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died."

~ Esther 2:7 ~

Reading through Esther chapter two, my main focus was on Mordecai and the sacrifice he made in raising Hadassah (Esther) “…whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother.” (V.7). In short, that is the story of my early life. However, it seemed to have hijacked my life story! It became the only story I believed to be the truth about my identity.

After being on planet Earth for more than half a century, the time had come for the truth to be revealed, allowing me to see what was always there. Meditating on that passage of Scripture, I acknowledged the other part of the story to be one of protection and not the rejection I had long seen it as. That part of my story, I had believed to be and should remain private, possibly locked away in a vault somewhere.

Accepting the fullness of my story

Accepting that protection is part of my story evoked emotions in me that I was unfamiliar with. Although gratitude arose, the people through whom God protected me are no longer here. Anger, guilt and shame welled up inside of me wondering why the secrecy.

It has kept me in hiding with no visible signs of healing. Isolation threatened my very existence. The enemy was gaining ground, and I became overwhelmed with guilt and fear. I didn’t like the person I was becoming. 

When I opened my mouth, words came out with an underlying tone of anger and frustration. Whoever is listening would naturally take offence, believing that anger was towards them and not the situation I was trying to address. I later found it was the overwhelming sadness from the unseen pain of heartache due to the heaviness from the grief I was enduring that interfered with my sharing. It was held inside with no place to go.

Lamentation

I needed help to process those feelings, but wherever I turned, there was a lack of compassion due to a lack of understanding and misinformation. I needed an outlet for lament, and there was none. I no longer knew what to do. Sin was multiplying through the obvious multiplication of symptoms, and the only solution I could see was to run for cover into the arms of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

So, I began crying out to God for divine intervention and through my time in the Word and my journaling, I am beginning to see God’s goodness in the land of the living.

Looking back and analysing some situations and circumstances, I can now see how God protected me by softening my grandfather’s heart to allow my grandmother to care for me. Being in their home throughout my childhood protected me from predators. I can see areas of provision. I can see where I was provided for and through whom.

Thanksgiving

Being able to look back and evaluate my early years found me employing a heart of gratitude. Being grateful meant that more and more I was thanking God for what He has done in those areas of my life.

I spent more time thanking Him for the people through whom He has blessed me, and slowly I began to emerge from the ashes of the past. Yes, Jesus came to free the captives (Isa. 61), and I am experiencing that freedom as I journal my thoughts, documenting what I am gleaning from the book of Esther.

Please join me as I share my story of ‘Gleaning From The Book of Esther’ over the next few days.

 ~ End of Part 1 ~

 Part 2 ~ Reviewing the Story