Candles are small, calm, silent...

by Rabbi Shlomo Chein

Question:

I did, at one time, believe G-d loved me and cared for me. That belief was carried and punctuated by a life of success financially and socially and physically. Then my health destroyed my finances, my marriage and my social position. My safe and secure world fell apart. It seems like I was taught to believe G-d's love for me was solely demonstrated in large and grandiose events. Parting the sea, bread from heaven, pillars of fire; all evidences of G-d at work, G-d's love for me. Yet in my greatest need I didn't have an Exodus experience. Now, I am desperately trying to find G-d's love for me in much smaller things, lesser events, maybe even in the common and mundane interactions with people and things. I am not sure if I will find G-d there.

Answer:

Miracles are fireworks. Life is a candle.

Fireworks make big, beautiful displays of light in the sky. But they don't last. They might impress you at the moment, but they have no longstanding effect.

Candles are small, calm, silent, and perhaps dull. But they are consistent. They might not draw much attention, but they sure provide you with a lot of light.

The Torah compares the soul of man to a candle. G-d's candle.1

The soul is the G-dliness within us that sustains us. And it is a candle. It is constant, even when it is unpresumptuous.

I am sorry to hear that currently there are no fireworks in your life. But there still is a candle. Learn to appreciate the value of the candle.

When we cherish the candle, our life is warm and full of light. Always.

And soon we learn how to use the candle to light the fireworks!

May you experience that real soon.

(found on http://www.askmoses.com)