Ice Spikes

We had two feet of snow fall here in a 24-hour period. This beautiful white fluff piled on top of an existing 8” base and then was followed a day later by another 8” or so. The result was a good three feet of snow covering our property. We shoveled and plowed paths to maneuver around the property – to get out our doors, down our driveway, and to the animals for feeding. It was quite lovely, easy to navigate and fun. And then the rain came.

Specifically, freezing rain. For another full day the rain poured down followed by negative temperatures at night and daytime temperatures reaching the steamy tropical level of 5 degrees F. Our beautiful white paths and plowed ways turned into thick sheets of ice. Solid ice. Lumpy and bumpy. Slick as could be and steep, as our property sits on a hillside. 

On the sides of our paths the snow was deep and crunchy. Since the paths were impassible I took to my chores by wading through the deep snow. It came up past my knees as it crumbled below me with each floundering step I took.  My husband had bought me ice spikes for my boots but I was being stubborn about putting them on. They can be a hassle to deal with as you can’t wear them indoors. I thought I’d do it my way. Back and forth I’d trudge through the deep snow multiple times a day. It was hard work.

Finally, after several days, I broke out the boot spikes. My chores that day would take me too long to accomplish if I kept up my stubborn decision to wade in the deep snow.

The first steps on the ice were almost magical. My feet felt like they were stuck like Velcro to the ice. I could run down that hill if I so chose! Amazing! Step. Stick. Step. Stick. Every move was connected securely making me feel safe.

Coming in long after dark one night, climbing our ice hill one secure step at a time, I suddenly realized that these little ice spikes are like emuna. Hang in here with me and I’ll explain…  I promise it’s not too much of a stretch.

My tendency of doing things “my way” was causing me to work way too hard by wading through deep snow since I had deemed the paths impassable and the one thing to make them passable was “too much work”. That pattern sounds a lot like me in other areas of my life.

Often the obvious way to accomplish a task looks impossible to me so instead of engaging my emuna I tend to take off on a tangent and flail around wasting a ton of energy. When I finally do engage my emuna, because, let’s be honest, “my way” rarely works, the emuna tends to enable me to dig right in and take off down the original obvious path to accomplishing the task.

Just like those little ice spikes allow me to walk securely on the best path to accomplish my chores, emuna allow us to walk our path toward our mission in life securely and confidently no matter what obstacles appear in our way.

Let’s think about this – in what areas can you engage your emuna to help you walk more securely on your path? Livelihood?  Shalom bayit (marital peace)? Raising Children? Health? Spiritual Growth?

The truth is, EVERY area of our lives needs emuna in order for us to live our lives to the fullest and accomplish our mission! When we are living our emuna, each step on our path is connected securely to Hashem!

I’m going to try my best to be a little less stubborn and a little quicker to use the tools at my disposal to follow the paths in my life… the icy ones and all the others. 

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Jennifer invites you to participate in a regularly held Noahide on-line study group that reviews the garden series books of Rabbi Arush. You can contact her at jenniferjwoodward@gmail.com to be added to the weekly newsletter for dates and times. Visit the blog at noahidenews.blogspot.com.