Consistency in Chaos

A Sukkot Wake-Up Call

This past Sukkot, we had a lot to celebrate.

One night, I was walking home from shul when I heard music and saw people dancing out of sheer joy in the street.

So, of course, I joined in, soaking up the celebration. Later, my wife showed me a video of the dancing, and let’s just say the first thing I noticed was that I looked a lot bigger than I thought I was. I knew that I gained a little weight but now I got a 360 degree view.  

Now that Sukkot is over,  I decided it was time to get back into shape.

Last night, I planned to get up early, work out, and start my day off strong with some learning before minyan. So I went to bed early with a mission, motivated and ready.

But guess what? This morning, my plan started strong but fell apart pretty fast. I had barely begun my workout when my wife texted me that our baby woke up, asking if I could take care of her so she could rest a bit.

Now, my wife does everything for our family all day, every day – helping her is the least I could do. So, I cut my workout short and didn’t get in my learning before minyan.

Here’s where the shift happened: in the past, I would’ve been frustrated. I would’ve been upset that my “big plans” didn’t work out. But instead, I felt calm.

I realized Hashem had His own plans for me this morning. Bitachon – trusting Hashem in every twist and turn – means believing that every little shift is from Him.

If He wanted my morning to go differently, that was okay. I’d get back to my workout and learning later. It was exactly as it should be, and instead of resisting, I went with it.

And now, the day feels…right.