Heluhelu Baibala/Bible Reading
No ka mea, inā e hāmau ʻoe i kāu ʻōlelo i kēia manawa, a laila, loaʻa nō i nā Iudaio ka hoʻākea ʻia, a me ke ola, mai kahi ʻē mai; a e make nō ʻoe, a me ko ka hale o kou makua kāne. Malia paha ʻo kou mea ia i hiki ai i ke aupuni no ka manawa e like me nēia?- ʻEsetera 4:14
For if you keep silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?- Esther 4:14

He Manaʻo o ke Kahu Kalani Wong, KS Maui
Did you know that the average person holds 12 different jobs in their lifetime?  And the average time that they spend at a job is about 4.3 years until they change to another job or position?  Throughout my lifetime, I think I’ve had more 12 jobs, a lot of them part-time during my high school and college life.  After graduating from seminary, I got my first full-time permanent position as an associate pastor.  That lasted for 5 ½ years.  Then I worked for the County of Maui in the Parks Department running the Summer PALS program.  In this position, I was able to put into practice many of the things that I had developed running other summer programs in Hawaiʻi and California.  My administrative skills were put to the test as I then shifted to the Administrative Officer position for the Parks Department overseeing the personnel and fiscal offices. After 5 ½ years with the Parks Department, I was recruited to work at Kaunoa Senior Services as the Leisure Services Director.  We had close to 100 different classes each week across the county for folks 55 years and older.  I also oversaw 3 major capital improvement projects in the 4 years I was there before moving to Kamehameha Schools.  In each of these positions, I was able to use my previously learned skills and develop new ones.  I took each program from where it was to the next level before it was time to move on.  In other words, I was in that particular seat “for such a time as this.”

We are all like that, put into positions to use what skills we have in our tool kit and learn new skill sets, all to prepare us for the next step.  We never know why we are selected, or not selected, but God does.  He knows that there are things that only the person in that seat is equipped to do and that individual would be able to learn and adapt to take things to the next level. 

But what if that individual doesn’t feel the call or see what they can do in that situation?  That was Esther’s thinking when her Uncle Mordecai told her that she needed to see the king immediately or calamity would fall upon the Persian Jews. She hesitated going to see that King for she didn’t have an appointment and if she went without one, she would be killed. Her ‘anakala reminded her, “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” She needed to be bold and know that God had her back.  And ke Akua did. May you step boldly like Esther did and realize that ke Akua put you are in a position to do some good with the gifts that you have in your tool kit and all that you will learn along the way.

TAGS
our faith,daily devotional,christian values

CATEGORIES
Kaipuolono Article, Themes, Culture, Community, Hawaii Newsroom, KS Hawaii Home, Kapalama Newsroom, Kapalama Home, Maui Newsroom, KS Maui Home, Newsroom, Kapalama, Maui, Preschools, Faith, Hawaii campus, Kapalama campus, Maui campus

Print with photos Print text only