I haven't read another chapter yet mostly that is because I am still stewing on the last one.  Ester goes through this process of making a decision, asking for prayers on her behalf and taking action.  I am amazed at how I have read just a few chapters and how much Ester has accomplished.  First she was chosen, which took a year.  Then she became queen.  And now she has to save her people.  But there is no time line on those. 

How did she know that the message from Mordichai was real?  How did she lay out the plan?  How long did it take her? How much did she agonize over the results of her actions?  How many times did she try out the plan only to fail?  While the author has detailed knowledge about Ester, he/she has left out some of the details.  Real Life details that is. 

When I go to a movie, it takes an hour and a half for the boy to get the girl.  An hour and a half and they live happily ever after.  It took me four and a half YEARS to decide I wanted to marry my husband.  YEARS...

When I read a book, it takes a couple weeks to come to a conclusion.  So Ester, in just a few chapters which took me all of 30 mins to read at a slow miserable pace, has been given her fate and is taking action.  Surely...surely...taking leadership roles in my own life will take longer and with more failures than that. 

The actions that I have taken just today are: a) sign back up for weight watchers, b) go to the gym even though I really don't want to c) write out a prayer and stick it to my bathroom mirror that says:

My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and the bad.  I pray that You now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and my Fellows.  Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen

That took me almost a month to accomplish.