Original author: John Roedel

Me:  Hey God.
God:  Hello…..

Me:  I’m falling apart. Can you put me back together?
God:  I would rather not.

Me:  Why?
God:  Because you aren’t a puzzle.

Me:  What about all of the pieces of my life that are falling down onto the ground?

God:  Let them stay there for a while.
They fell off for a reason.
Take some time and decide if you need any of those pieces back.

Me:  You don’t understand! I’m breaking down!

God:  No – you don’t understand

YOU ARE BREAKING THROUGH.

What you are feeling are just growing pains. You are shedding the things, the people and the systems in your life that are holding you back.

You aren’t falling apart.
YOU ARE FALLING INTO PLACE. RELAX.

Take some deep breaths and allow those things you don’t need anymore to fall off of you. Quit holding onto the pieces that don’t fit you anymore.

Let them fall off. Let them go.

Me:  Once I start doing that, what will be left of me?

God:  Only the very best pieces of you.

Me:  I’m scared of changing.

God:  I keep telling you –
YOU AREN’T CHANGING!!
YOU ARE BECOMING!

Me:  Becoming who?

God:  Becoming who I created you to be!

A person of light and love and charity and hope and courage and joy and mercy and grace and compassion. You are fearless…

I made you for more than the shallow pieces you have decided to adorn yourself with that you cling to with such greed, gluttony. jealousy and fear.

Let those things fall off of you.

I LOVE YOU!!

DON’T CHANGE BECOME!!

Become! Become! Become! Become who I made you to be. I’m going to keep telling you this until you remember it.

Me:  There goes another piece.
God: Yep. Let it be.

Me:  So…I’m not broken?

God:  No – but
YOU ARE BREAKING LIKE A NEW DAWN. IT’S A NEW DAY. BECOME!!

Anonymous, 16 yr old Jewish Girl

A pandemic Poem – Well, it’s about time!

Haven’t hear enough? Now, hear it in rhyme!

I hope you’ll read on, though I suspect that you will.

Something tells me that you have time to kill.

But, what can I say that has not been said?

What can I write, that you have not read?

You’ve seen every memo, you’ve heard all the news.

You’ve shared and reported your medical views.

And why not just say it – it’s all pretty depressing.

Solitude can turn out to be quite distressing.

How long ago did my fourteen days tart?

Misery dos not love being six feet apart.

So, while most of you read this, locked up in your room,

With your browser tab firmly pinned onto Zoom,

I hope you find solace in the words I impart.

As they come to you straight from my quarantined heart.

I can’t begin to pretend I’ve figured anything out.

I have no idea what this is all about.

I’m OK at math, that much I can tell.

But Divine calculation isn’t where I excell.

So, I’ve thought as hard as my fried brain would allow,

Not about “Why” but rather “What now?”

What to do now that there’s nothing to do.

How to approach this as a God-fearing Jew.

Well, I think it is crucial that we make one thing clear

HaShem has His Plan. there is no need to fear.

Sometimes what we know is what must be stressed.

God is good, God I kind. This is all for our best.

And with that as a pretext, what can we now gain?

HaShem doesn’t just put us through haphazard pain.

Behind all these masks, a purpose is hiding.

With every gloved hand, His Hand is guiding.

“Come Home”, HaShem says, “I want you alone.

Cancel, re-book, rain-check, postpone.

There is only one way to bring this about.

I am hereby declaring a global TIME-OUT.

Come in from your classrooms, your car pools, your schools.

Come in from your minyans, your kollels, your shuls.

I kow this is scary, and daunting and new.

But right now that is what I want you to do.”

“Come in from your parties, your shows and your plays.

Come in from your workplace, your 9.00 to 5.00 days.

Close all your stores, every stall every shop.

Come in my dear child, come in and just STOP.”

“I am closing all air borders, no airports, no planes.

No buses, no Ubers, no subways or trains.

You have nowhere to be, nothing to do.

No need to make \Time, I’ve made it for you”.

“And now that there’s nowhere and no one to meet.

Nothing to run to, to catch, host or greet.

Now that I’ve filtered you down to your core.

Who are you when there’s no one to be anymore?”

And its this very question that runs through my mind.

Stripped down to my essence, who will I find?

“Who am I?” I wonder, and “Who am I not?”

And what do I do when it’s not who I thought?

For, anyone interested to link the message of these poems up with the projections we presented over the last few weeks from the all important Exodus (Redemption) chapters – which we have reviewed –  go to the ‘Blog’ item on the Menu and follow the last few weeks’ Blogs.