Sudden Reversal

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Is Purim just a fun-filled holiday? Or is it something more?

King Achashverosh of Persia was a mighty emperor. His evil advisor Haman was jealous of Mordechai, the leader of the Jewish people, and planned a terrible plot to destroy every single Jew.

Things looked bad, and the Jews were really scared. But they turned to God and prayed, fasted, and tried to improve their ways.

God didn't let them down. He turned everything around!

The king found out that his beautiful Queen Esther was really Jewish. The king got mad at Haman, and decided to hang him on the same gallows where Haman had planned to hang Mordechai. Then the king chose Mordechai to take Haman's position as one of the most powerful people in the kingdom.

It was a real miracle!

On Purim we celebrate how God protected us and turned the whole world upside down to save us. And if that's not a good reason for a party, I don't know what is!

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STORY

In our story, a girl sees with her own eyes that just like on Purim, sometimes a situation that seems really bad can suddenly turn around for the good.

"STANDING ROOM ONLY"

      This was the day Jackie had been waiting for. Charlie Menagen, the famous piano player, was coming to town to give a concert! Not only that, but Jackie's friend Ella, who was a distant cousin of Charlie's promised to get them front row seats, right near the stage. Of course, she'd never realize her dream of getting to meet Charlie but at least she could get close!

      But now it looked like something had gone wrong. Jackie had arranged with Ella to meet in front of the theatre at 7:30. Here it was almost 8:30 and time for the show to start -- and still Ella was nowhere in sight.

      "Now what?" thought Jackie as she looked at her watch. "The concert is starting and I don't even have a ticket!"

      So she went to the ticket office to buy a ticket. But they told her: "Sorry, young lady, but we only have standing-room tickets left."

      Jackie was really disappointed as she bought a ticket and walked into the theatre.

      "What a bummer!" she said to herself, "I thought I was going to have a front row seat and now I'm going to have to stand all the way in the back."

      As usual, Charlie put on a great show. But near the end of the concert he made a surprise announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a special treat for you all. I'm going to play you folks a brand new song. It's called "Standing Room Only." In honor of my new song I want to invite all of you with standing-room tickets to join me on the stage as my special guests."

      Jackie thought she was dreaming. She and the few other 'standing-roomers' came up to the stage where Charlie sat them down, poured them a drink, and played his great new song as he smiled at them. Afterwards he gave them each a personally autographed copy of his latest CD.

      "What a miracle!" thought Jackie on her way home that evening. "Here I thought I got an awful ticket, but really Someone Up There was arranging it that I was getting the best seat in the house!"

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QUESTIONS

 

Age 3-5

 

Q. How did Jackie feel when her friend didn't come, and she had to buy a standing-room ticket?
A. She felt like everything had gone wrong.

Q. How did she feel when Charlie invited her onto the stage?
A. She felt great and she felt like everything that happened was really God's way of helping her have a great time.

 

Age 6-9

Q. Would it have been better had everything gone according to plan and Ella had shown up before the concert?
A. No, Jackie wouldn't have gone on stage and met Charlie. They would have had nice seats, but that's all.

Q. Why did Jackie think what happened was a miracle?
A. Because she wasn't expecting something like that to happen. She realized that God had arranged a lot of things in order to help her out.

Q. Have you ever had bad events turn out good in the end?

 

Age 10-13

Q. What lesson did Jackie learn?
A. That there is a reason for everything bad that happens, and we should always try to find the good in things that seem not to go our way. In the long run it will turn out for the best.

Q. If something is anyway going to turn out good in the end, why do you think God sometimes makes it look bad at the beginning?
A. It's to teach us to turn to Him for help, and appreciate how He's involved in our lives.

Q. Was there a time in your life when you felt God was directly helping you?

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