It's a Good Morning

 

I've been having quite a few good mornings in a row lately - I credit my Heavenly Father for that!

    I am about to pray Shacharit with 2 very good friends, although we are separated by many miles and a sea and a continent.

    I started this blog yesterday morning, but since today is another good morning, I will just continue.

    On Sunday I had lunch with my beloved twin daughters and their spouses, whereafter we all went to visit my beloved mother. We laughed a lot and shared memories. It's amazing how God is bringing my family closer together again. It's an answer to prayer.

    Even my cousins, some of whom I haven't seen for 40 years, have all come together to form a family WhatsApp group - and it is a BUSY group! Praise the LORD!

OK, so I started this piece of writing a full 2 days ago - yet somehow it feels like 4! - but since this is Yet Another Good Day, I shall simply continue...

    Yesterday was voting day in South Africa, and this is my personal recollection of the day (and night!):

    I had a prayer meeting and a Hebrew class in the morning and decided not to cancel them in order to stand in the queue to vote. So, once I was done on Zoom, I saw a pic posted on our community group of the queue at the local voting station - it was down the first long road, round the corner, and three-quarters of the way down the second long road. I sighed, and decided to give it until half past two before moseying on down to do my civic duty.

    Of course, I prayed for the Lord to go before me and make everything work well.

    As I arrived in the queue, two Xhosa ladies arrived directly in front of me. After standing there for but a few minutes one of them turned around to me and said she was expecting someone to come and stand in front of me. I said they could go to the back of the queue like everybody else, which caused a string of irate Xhosa words to flow from her. I decided to leave it in the Lord's hands and not worry about something that might never happen.

    After about 25 minutes of standing in the hot sun, my knees and back were already starting to ache. Just then, a lady drove past, stopped right next to me, wound down here window, and said: "Over 60s can go right up to the door." She was a complete stranger to me - probably she was an angel sent by God!

    I duly went to the short queue for the ancients - 4 people ahead of me! - and was inside before I knew it. And out just as fast.

    But the rest of the non-ancient voters weren't as fortunate. The voting officially closed at 9pm. At 9.30pm the queue was still VERY long and the IEC brought 5 extra voting stations - talk about being tardy!

    Our voting station closed its doors at about half past midnight. By that time the voters that were left were feeling quite festive and making an enjoyable evening of it. Good for them!

So, I see I wrote this more than a month ago. WOW, time flies when you're having fun! So much has happened in this last month, all of it good.

    My gorgeous grandson came to visit for 2 weeks in the July school holiday - we had a beautiful time together. My son and I have reconnected after more than a year and my heart is so full and thankful to HaShem for His mercy and kindness.

    Today, as I was leaving my mom to go home, I found myself asking myself the question: If this was my last day on earth, did I do enough today?

    I don't know. As I ran through the things I'd been part of up to 4pm this afternoon, they didn't seem much. 

    I woke up and said the morning blessings and prayers, thanking God for giving me another day to live, taught a Hebrew lesson, visited my beloved mother, shared a meal, chatted, and laughed. I helped her download a Bible reading app on her phone. When I went to the shop for my daily bread, I saw a lady wearing big bright orange and yellow sunflower earrings, and I complimented her on them. We smiled and she said she wears them on purpose to make people smile. Our smiles grew larger.

    Doesn't seem like much, does it? But sometimes our daily assignments are lighter than other days. I didn't pray or study today, but there's still time I guess. The online UK-based synagogue is praying for Israel at 8pm and I'm teaching at Hebrew lesson at 9.30. And of course, there is my daily phone call to my grandson to chat briefly about our days and pray the goodnight prayers together.

    Last but not least AT ALL is the fact that my son is coming to visit me within the next week or so. I am ecstatic! Baruch HaShem!!

    I am so thankful to the LORD for all He is to me and all He does for me, there are no words to adequately express how full my heart is of love for Him.

        Erev tov Everybody