@joel-brewer @caleb-jordan @rivkah-holland
This poem is from Jewish Women Unite but it is so good I wanted to share it with you. I know how much you love poetry. 😅
I wonder what the woman saw that made her change her mind?
The Best Day Ever” By Eden Gabay
You know those days when nothing goes right?
When waking up is already a fight?
Your shower is cold, you can't find your keys,
It's minus one hundred and fifty degrees.
Your tank is on empty and you're running late,
It's five after nine and work starts at eight,
You catch every red on your morning commute,
And then you spill coffee all over your suit.
You can't find your pen, have a lousy meeting,
The maintenance guy did not fix the heating,
Drop hundreds of papers all over the floor,
Then stub your foot on your way out the door.
The noise from your carpool makes your head ache,
Rage war with your eyelids just to stay awake,
And after all are fed and homeworked and bathed,
You account for each limb to ensure you're unscathed.
And when it's finally over, you collapse into bed,
A hot compress firmly pressed to your head,
And just as you are beginning to doze,
A voice startles you before your eyelids can close.
You look to your right, your left, front and back,
Then up at the ceiling, to ominous black,
You think for a moment, could it really be true?
And quietly you whisper, "Hashem, is that You?"
A warm feeling fills you as you hear a reply,
"Yes, My dear child, indeed, it is I.
Just thought that I might pop in, if I may,
It appears that you've had quite the long day. ״
You heave a heavy sigh and give a great nod,
"Is it that obvious? Then again, You are God.
Oh yes, Hashem, what a day it has been!
What a day! What a life You have put me in."
You try to stifle an oncoming sob,
But you're not really doing a very good job,
You feel a Godly hand wipe a tear from your cheek,
And listen in silence as Hashem starts to speak.
"I don't always do this, but due to your condition,
I would like to extend a Divine proposition,
I'm giving you five minutes to revise and rearrange,
Everything that you have is now for you to change."
"Five minutes to tweak anything that is yours,
Your job and your money, your duties and chores,
Your health and your looks, your car and your house,
Your parents and siblings and children and spouse."
"Everything in your life is now yours to refine,
No strings attached, nothing to sign,
So think, My dear child, and look deep within,
Before your three hundred seconds begin."
And just like that, the wheels start to turn,
As your heart searches for all the things that you yearn,
The gashmius things, and the ruchniyus too!
There is really no limit to all the good you can do.
It wouldn't hurt to be a few inches thinner,
Or a multi million lottery winner,
Think of all the tzedaka you could give and donate!
The organizations you could help and create!
Why not make your eyes just a little bit bluer?
Your excessive freckles just a little bit fewer?
A sharper mind would give your learning some spice,
And a little more patience would also be nice.
You take out a pen and paper in haste,
There is so much to write and no time to waste!
You carefully craft a long, pensive list,
Then review it to confirm there's nothing you missed.
But before you are able to get out your first thought,
Hashem stops you and says, "Oh, I almost forgot!"
"Just one more thing before you proceed,
To upgrade your life with all that you need."
"In these same five minutes, you will also have My mind,
You will know of every detail that was ever designed,
Everything that I know, you will now know too,
No facet or feature will be hidden from you."
"You will know of the future, the present, the past,
Every answer to every question to ever be asked,
And with that, my dear child, I will start your clock,
Your five minutes have begun, don't waste them, tick tock."
And just as the timer starts to tick down,
You look at your list and give a small frown,
When suddenly you realize you cannot commence,
Because your whole entire list...doesn't make any sense!!
You rub your eyes and squint down at your list just once more,
Could you really have written this just moments before?
Your eyes scan the page and your head starts to spin,
...And then you feel goosebumps slowly crawl up your skin.
Because just then you realize with MIND BLOWING awe,
That if only you could see what Hashem always saw,
If you knew what He knew, our Father, our King,
You wouldn't even change
One.
Single.
Thing.
You are unable to express the reverence that you feel,
There's just nothing to change...it's all so ideal.
You look through the darkness at the clock's greenish glow,
Three minutes and forty four seconds to go.
You look at your life, all that's happened thus far,
The battles you've fought to be the person you are,
Every heartbreak and hurdle and breakdown and bruise,
Was it all not exactly what you would choose?
And as your final few seconds swiftly dwindle away,
You decide to take one last look at your day,
And for so many reasons that are so very good ,
You now see you had the best day that you ever could.
And when the timer runs out, you lay back in bed,
The mind of the Almighty promptly out of your head,
You think of tomorrow and all that there is to do,
And rest in the knowledge that if only you knew.
