
All you parents out there know exactly what this picture's all about.
And if you don't, just nod and pretend like you do. No one will know the difference, I promise.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S IN THESE MOUNTAINS OF BAGS???
SCHOOL SUPPLIESSSSS!!!!!
And that means....
SCHOOL IS HERE!!!!
Do I sound a little too happy? Well, I am. Because I just spent the last nearly three months on the roller coaster ride of my life, and lucky me, the kids were a part of the excitement every step of the way.
See, isn't it nice how I wrote that? Like, all non-insulting? I could have said they annoyed me to no end with their fighting, complaining, whining, screaming, fighting, not sleeping, and complaining about everything. But I didn't.
I tell you, I'm completely burnt out. The stress of this summer was astronomical. Gargantuan. Behemoth. Outer space, even. I have no idea what I'm saying anymore because my brain cells are on self-preservation mode. You know, when the machine shuts down into like a hibernation in order to stop it from burning out completely.
Does this make any sense?
Well, the kids started school yesterday and I feel like I deserve a medal or at least an Oscar nomination for Most Wacked Mother of the Year. I'm sure a few of you out there would happily give me that nomination.
Last night I went to sleep at 3:30 because we had just finished registering for the school the week before, and I had just gone school shopping over the past few days. It was completely overwhelming, because not only did I have to get supplies for five kids, which equals like 2,047 different things, but the boxes from our move are still mostly unpacked because I don't have any place to put anything.
So the stress was... stressful. Very. Very. Stressful.
But in the end, the kids got into a great school at the last minute, and I managed to get 72% of the stuff I needed. Still another round or two to go, but the worst is over.
Finally, after a long, difficult summer, I'm finally starting to see the light. Hallelujah!
Which leads me to my point.
All of our suffering, all of our challenges - as intense and difficult as they are, the good news is they don't last forever.
Eventually they pass and we draw on our emuna and gratitude to help us heal and move on.
Sure, much easier said than done.
But that's what life is all about. Overcoming challenges. Learning and growing from those challenges. Completing our soul corrections.
As I advance into adulthood, at least somewhat, I am sometimes terrified by the things I see people going through, Hashem have mercy. While I can't take their pain away, at least I can give them awareness of the life-saving tools that we are so fortunate and blessed to know about.
I can help them understand the concepts of emuna and gratitude. You and I know that there is no greater wisdom to live by in this entire world. Emuna and gratitude literally save lives. They save people's sanity, their marriages, their everything.
No matter what part of the world I decide to hop to next, my life's mission is to help spread the wisdom of emuna and gratitude n any way I can.
I know that if you're reading this blog, you've likely benefited from these amazing teachings. So I'm asking straight out for you to partner with myself, Rav Brody, and Rav Arush, and the entire Breslev Israel family in spreading emuna around the world.
Especially with Rosh Hashana around the corner, now is the best time to start the coming year with blessings, both for yourself, your family, and all the people in the world that so desperately need these teachings.
Donate to Emuna Outreach.
Be our partner in making this world the beautiful place Hashem intended it to be.
I wish you all a happy and healthy Shana Tova, and may Hashem bless you with a year filled with health, love, spiritual and material abundance, and most importantly, joy.
Don't forget to check out Rav Brody's weekly emuna lesson below!
~Racheli