A Song of Ascendings. Of David.

Adonai, my heart is not haughty

And my eyes are not raised up in scorn,

Nor do I take my place among great things

Or things too wondrous for me.

Inspiration

I wanted to find a psalm about perseverance because I thought it was time to talk about it on this journey. It was hard to find something that expressed what I needed to say. So today I’m going to start with my message. It may be a little longer than usual but the time calls for it. Stick with me.

We have collectively gotten past the honeymoon stage of this whole experience. Some of us are feeling restless, some are feeling a bit of anxiety, some are busy with life and don’t have much time to think about where they are, some have remained in gratitude. Wherever you are on this spectrum at any given moment, I want to remind you that you are exactly where you are supposed to be in each of those moments.

When the Israelites travelled through the desert, they were led by a cloud – God. When the cloud moved, they moved. When the cloud remained still, they remained still. They never knew how long each movement would be and they didn’t know for how long they would stay in one place. It wasn’t up to them. It was up to nature. To the cloud, to God.

We are still in the process of surrendering and it’s messy. We rebel, we regress, we protest. We cry, we get angry, we mourn. It is all part of the journey. But if we can persist, persevere, stay the course, we will learn to move when it is time to move and remain still when we are called to do so. We will surrender.

How do we get there?

We remain humble. We let go. We go on. We love, we connect, we make a commitment to ourselves. We make a commitment to the collective. We reach out when we feel ourselves falling. We lift up when we are feeling strong. We give. We receive. We get creative. We stay the course. And most importantly, we remember that we are not alone.

You can do this. You already are.

Love,

Rabbi Gabi