Nearly Everything Worthwhile is Hard (8-Minute Mommy Peptalk)
Meditations on a really strange package of cookies.
Inspiration from One Jewish Mother to Another
- About
- THE BLOG
- Moms
- Me
- Inspiration
- Video
- Pregnancy
- Israel
- Contact
Home » Uncategorized » Nearly Everything Worthwhile is Hard (8-Minute Mommy Peptalk)
site by illuminea
Blog Artwork Courtesy of Sheva Chaya Shaiman and Shoshana Motzen
Your peptalks usually resonate with me, but this time I cant agree. I work in a demanding job, with mostly non-religious co-workers, and b”H have a large family. I think it is *so much* easier to be frum!!! You are imagining a life with no pre-shabbat rush, but they are living a life with no shabbat! Shabbat is my lifeline – I dont know what I would do without a day of just family, just connecting to each other!
Beyond that, without the Torah as my guidebook, I think I would be floundering. It is so much easier to live within G-d-given boundaries, then to make them up yourself.
I would agree that everything worthwhile requires effort, but would not necessarily call it “hard”. Have a great week and thanks for getting me thinking, as usual!
I think I wasn’t clear enough in the peptalk. My point was that certain aspects of our lives are challenging (i.e. getting ready for shabbat every week, mothering our children, investing in our marriages, taking care of our homes) but they lead to wonderful, truly worthwhile things–which are NOT difficult to deal with (a holy, family-centered shabbat, grown children who are committed Jews, happy marriages, pleasant homes where our families can thrive). The beginning,preparatory efforts are hard, not the result. Those are hard-earned but enjoyable blessings.
It’s funny, because that quote transports me back to Friday afternoon pre family life. Like after living in my parents home when getting ready for shabbos was hectic and before having my own family, when Friday afternoon is INSANE. It reminds me of like the 10 year period when shabbos was totally chilled out. Even if I was making meals for friends, I could control my day so that the few hours before shabbat were totally relaxing. Even more so if I was going out for all my meals, Fridays were so enjoyable!! The flashback to this period in my life makes me want to change my whole week just so I can have that relaxed pre shabbos feeling back! 🙂 Not sure if it’s possible, but would be nice.
Sometimes when there are more struggles it is hard to search and find H’m there. The lives we lead; especially for those who did not grow up in an orthodox home are very different from what was before. But these lives we lead are beautiful because they are surrounded by H’m and Torah and all is good.
This spoke home so much right now. I have been in pre-labor for about 60 hrs now. Daytimes while moving around are somewhat manageable. Night times have been rough being woken up by contractions that are 5-7 min apart consistently. This is our second child and each Neshama H’m entrusts us with is a Bracha. We are davening that the baby finds the right position and maybe slows down to get some rest to be prepared for the real event whenever H’m decides it should be. And when I think baby it helps strengthen me but was also making me anxious to just get through this part to get to the “end of the road.” This morning I received some wonderful Chizuk. It is not about just receiving that reward where we have a warm meal on the table and are surrounded by our family, or the baby coming (those parts are beautiful) but it’s also about the journey. The mad rush 2 hrs before Shabbat, the long early labor, those moments are also are Avodat H’m and beautiful in their own way.
Thank you for sharing, we should see Peace in Eretz Yisrael soon, we should see our own Avodat H’m through all the events in our life, and most importantly we should see Mosiach speedily and soon! Kol Tov.