Tonight is the last night of the Bible study on Esther, and I haven’t written anything about last week’s lesson and the insights I received. Where does the time go?

Just because I haven’t written anything, it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been pondering and trying to apply what I learned. Remember in the 8th chapter of Esther when she again goes before the king to plead with him for the life of her people? The evil Haman has been taken care of, and Mordecai is now in his place. Yet the Jewish people are still scheduled to be killed in the month of Adar. In this chapter, we see the queen falling at the king’s feet and tearfully requesting that he reverse the edict ordering the destruction of her people.

Of all the things our facilitator discussed last week, the one I remember best is the reminder to “fight the good fight.” Fight for your people, your children, your husband, your family. Be emotional. Cry. Get on your knees if necessary but FIGHT. Beth Moore, developer of the Esther study series, struck a responsive chord in many of us in the class when she said, “Fight for your marriage.”

She read a letter from a woman who was saddened by the fact that after 20 years of marriage, her husband had basically said “okay” when she told him she wanted a divorce. In her case, she really didn’t want a divorce so much as she wanted him to fight for her, for them. After reading the letter to the class, Beth Moore went on say that women want men who will fight for them, who will die for them if necessary. She then said “Fight for your marriage, fight for your family” several times with such sincerity and power that I think all of us were motivated to work much, much harder on our relationships, especially the marriage one. I actually went home and said, “I will fight for you. I will fight for our marriage, our partnership.” I think DH thought I’d flipped my lid because rather than respond to my vow, he asked whether I wanted to eat at Chili’s or the Huddle House.

Interestingly, this past weekend, we watched Fireproof, a movie about a couple whose marriage was unraveling. They turn things around by applying Christian principles of love, unselfishness, and sacrifice to their partnership. It was a great flick, and I couldn’t help but think of the “coincidence” of seeing it so soon after being reminded of fighting the good fight. The basic message of the movie was to never forsake your partner, whether it’s a fire fighting colleague or your spouse. Make the relationship fireproof and inviolable.

I realize that it “takes two to tango,” and yet I earnestly think (know) that in my situation I could be a bit more unselfish, a little more in tune to what he might want instead of what I want. For starters, we went to Chili’s last week, his choice.