Looking outside my window and seeing all those leafless trees and the minuscule amount of snow that fell the other night ending this snow drought in the city, my mind finds it hard to assimilate the fact that Tu Bishvat begins Sunday night. Tu Bishvat is the New Year for the trees, which is the harbinger of Spring. I read a story about a woman who had Alzheimer’s disease. Her eyes saw the leafless trees in winter, but because her mind was clouded she thought the trees were dead. “Someone should cut down those trees,” she would repeat day after day. “They aren’t coming back.”
How often we see our “leafless” circumstances with a mind clouded by past experience and disappointment. We may look at friendship, a marriage, a family feud, and say to ourselves, “Cut it down. Sever the tie. Make the break. It’s hopeless!” But God wants us to see with hope because of His presence and power. We can’t bring life to these seemingly impossible situations, but He can.
We
shall read in this week’s Torah portion, parashat
Beshalakh, that on the banks of the Sea of Reeds, the Children of Israel saw
the Egyptian cavalry close in on them.
“Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. And they said to Moses, ‘Was it for want of
graves in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, taking us out of
The Sea of Reeds split allowing the Jewish people to cross over in safety and engulfed the Egyptian army as they pursued after them. Our lives were saved and we were ready for the next part of our journey, off to Sinai and the Ten Commandments. Unbelievable, one moment everything looked hopeless; the next moment we were redeemed!
What
leafless, lifeless situation do you see today?
Don’t believe everything your mind tells you about it. Instead, ask God for eyes of faith that will
see with hope. All those tress outside
my window will blossom again soon enough and who knows what other seas will
split to allow us to cross today in safety!
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