A few years ago, I started a blog series called Coffee & Conversations with Women of the Bible and had a great response to the posts. I would like to once again feature these blogs every few weeks. Will you pull up a chair, grab your Bible and coffee, and chat with these beautiful women? We have SO much to learn from them. Here we go!

Coffee with Esther

I wave to Esther as she waits in line at Starbucks to place her order. Her beauty captivates me. Dressed in an empire waist peacock blue gown adorned with white lace embroidered at the neckline and flowing sleeves, she smiles and nods.

After placing her order, she glides across the floor and sits at the table I chose tucked in the corner of the busy café. All eyes follow this young queen, but she doesn’t notice. Her innocence makes her all the more beautiful.

“Hello,” she says.

“It’s nice to meet you, Queen Esther.”

Her cheeks redden. “Please, it’s Esther. How can I help you?”

I sip my Cinnamon Dolce latte to gather my thoughts and calm the butterflies taking flight in my stomach. I check my notes. “I have many questions for you. I doubt I’ll be able to ask them all.”

“Well then, we’ll just have to arrange for a second coffee time.” She giggles. Her face ignites with joy and the bead hanging from her forehead sparkles in the window’s light.

“When you were grabbed from your home and ushered into the kingdom like a herd of cattle, you remained positive. You even tried to lift the spirits of the other girls. How did you do that? How did you remain so positive?”

Her smile dissipates for a moment. “My father and mother taught me to always . . . what’s that saying you use these days? Oh yah, look at the glass half full instead of half empty. I choose joy in all circumstances.”

“How when your world is caving in around you?”

“By laying all troubles at my Father’s feet.”

“Easier said than done.”

The barista calls her name and Esther retrieves her chai tea latte from the front counter. She sits and takes a sip. “Absolutely, but He wants our obedience and our trust.”

“Let’s talk about all the beauty treatments.”

She rolls her eyes. “What did you want to know?”

“I can tell by your expression, you weren’t impressed by them?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Her brows furrow. “It disgusts me. Beauty classes are useless. I wanted to learn more about the kingdom and how to be a queen, not about perfume and oils. Society puts too much emphasis on our looks. It’s ridiculous. Should we really care about our appearance?”

“Some would say yes to that question. Even go as far as to say our looks are how we get ahead in this world.”

Esther shakes her head. “It shouldn’t be that way.” She points to her heart. “It’s what is in here that matters. Not what color of eye shadow I wear or what size I am.”

A commotion at a nearby table interrupts our conversation. Two young girls are ushered out of the café.

“I wonder what that was all about,” I say. “Getting back to your comment. So you don’t think women should care about how they look?”

She sighs. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. We need to take care of what God has given us, but we shouldn’t obsess over it or use it for our advantage to get ahead. Or make it our number one priority in life. That’s wrong. We need to focus on our hearts and use it to lead us.”

I lean back in my chair. I now realize why Esther’s presence radiates the room.

Her heart shines through her face, sparkling for all to see. “I get it. When our hearts are beautiful, so are we.” (click to tweet)

Her eyes widen. “Yes!”

“Such great truth.” I look at my notes. “Another question. What happened next in your story?”

She smiles. “Oh, that would take more time to tell than we have today.”

“How about we meet again soon?”

She finishes her chai tea. “It would be my pleasure.”

Do you agree with Esther? Do we put too much emphasis on our looks in today’s society? Are we teaching the younger generation it’s how we look that matters? What do you think?

Psalm 90:17 (KJV)

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.