Esther’s Echo: Friends for Such a Time as This

When my wife prayed for a friend, it came from a place of quiet desperation. We were in a season of unraveling, both politically and spiritually.

From 2016 to 2020, the foundations we had grown up with began to shift. We were lifelong Unitarian Universalists, progressive Democrats, and Bernie Sanders supporters. But over time, our trust in that framework began to erode. The voices we once followed no longer resonated. We started seeking something different.

That search led us toward unexpected voices. Some were conservative; many deeply religious—Catholics, Orthodox Jews, and Orthodox Christians. They carried themselves with joy and resilience. We saw how their faith gave them peace, confidence, and purpose.

That was the beginning of our turning. We didn’t yet know what we were turning toward, only that we were being drawn.

And that’s when God answered Amy’s prayers by sending into our lives the Tanners—Jenna, Jake, and their two young sons.

When we met them, they too were seeking something that was lacking in their lives, before belief had taken root in any of us.

But something about their presence felt intentional. We connected easily, and trust came quickly.

We shared our doubts and questions.

We shared family vacations. We broke bread together.

We creek-stomped together.

Together, we created a friendship grounded in truth and laughter.

Together, we grew our families into one.

Our friendship with the Tanners grew as we bonded over Dr. Jordan Peterson’s Bible lectures and philosophy. His insights sparked long talks that bridged our doubts and drew us closer to truth.

A year or so later, the moment came when I accepted the reality of Jesus and shared that with Amy and them right away. That moment was a step for us all, I believe. It gave space for them to hope that even deeply skeptical people could come to faith, and that this transformation was possible for others too.

And they all did.

They each found their own faith, a shared journey that deepened our bond.

Jenna and Amy walked closely together through this season of becoming. As Amy embraced a new faith and a new political identity, she carried grief and uncertainty alongside hope. Jenna helped her see that nothing precious was being lost. Her compassion, strength, and passion remained intact. That friendship gave Amy the freedom to grow without fear.

Now, Jenna, Jake, and their two sweet young sons have moved to the West Coast.

The goodbye brings real sorrow. It’s a parting marked by love, but the ache is still real.

As it happens, I’ve been reading through the book of Esther. God’s name doesn’t appear in the story, yet His hand moves throughout it—guiding events, arranging timing, placing people. The most famous line in the book comes when Mordecai says to Esther:

Esther 4:14—“And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

And I made the connection. He called Esther to see her position not as an accident, but as an assignment.

Maybe that’s how we should see Jenna and Jake’s arrival in our lives. They were friends we needed for such a time as this.

And maybe now, they’re being sent for such a time as that.

This moment holds both loss and purpose. In Esther’s story, Mordecai spoke vision into Esther’s next step. Perhaps we’re now called to do the same: to bless our friends and trust that their new place is just as appointed as their presence here was.

And here’s where Esther’s God speaks the loudest—by not speaking at all. The silence in the story reminds us that God doesn’t need to be loud to be present. His providence is often quiet, invisible, threaded behind the curtain, but always active.

That same God, the One who authors stories and orchestrates timings, was at work when Jenna and Jake entered our lives. And we trust He’s still writing now, as they leave.

Could there be a return someday? Absolutely. God writes beautiful reunions. But whether near or far, the bond we share remains. The miles may have changed, but the love will not.

So we say goodbye with tears, but also with gratitude, because we believe in divine timing. And we believe that what God authors, He sustains.

Across states.

Across seasons.

Across all the distances life may bring.

“Heavenly Father,

We thank You for sending the Tanners into our lives for such a time as this, weaving our lives with their love. Guide them in Your purpose, keep them safe in Your care, and sustain our bond across all distances, through Christ our Lord,

Amen.”