A Soulful Journey

They that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength They shall mount up with wings as eagles  They shall run, and not be weary They shall walk and not faint. — ISAIAH 40:30

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end.  Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.” –Gilda Radner 1946-1989 "Let us eat, and drink for tomorrow we die"-   Isaiah  22:13

“In my eyes you are precious and I love you.”   Isaiah 43:4 These words should be uttered every day.

“The Talmud records that King Hezekiah was granted the prophetic foresight to see that the son he might bear- Manasseh – would bring evil and suffering into the world.  He decided, accordingly, not to have children. The prophet, Isaiah, rebuked him savagely.  “What have you to do with the mysteries of the Almighty?”  Any potential can be quantified – except a potential human life.”  - Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Always give people the "benefit of doubt."

One who comes in from a journey is forbidden to pray.   Or one is distraught is forbidden to pray.   What is the reason?   Declares Isaiah, “Therefore now hear this, you afflicted and drunken but not with wine….”   51:21 -Yerushalmi 5:1 Why would the Talmud make such a statement? Surely we need to pray when we are distressed, in need of help?! Perhaps, they reason, that if we prayed out of anger we may say words that we come to regret.   Prayer should always be treated as sacrosanct, not like Monopoly money.

Till you grow old, I will still be the same; when you turn gray, it is I who will carry you. – Isaiah 46:4

A student once devalued, "I have learned [or taught] Isaiah."  "Yes'" responded the elder.  "What did Isaiah teach you?" A woman was greatly moved by the brilliance of a lecturing professor and rushed up to this all-wise man and asked enthusiastically, "Professor, what do you think of God?"  The learned gentleman quietly replied, "It's not important.  What is important is what God thinks of me."   -Simon A. Dolgin

“That’s marvelous, having a lion and a monkey in the same cage,” said the visitor to a small zoo.   “How do they get along?” “Okay, usually,” answered the zookeeper.  “Occasionally they have a disagreement, and we have to get a new monkey.”          – Ohio Motorist Life is imperfect.  Our task is not to imagine it as perfect but to work toward that end.