It's Time to Cross the River!

Each of us has so much potential.  But as we sometimes struggle and sometimes seek comfort in life, we might forget that we are in this world for a reason.  Life is not random.  There is meaning in our choices, both as individuals, and also as individuals who make up great and important nations of the world. We might sometimes feel that life is made up of random events.  After all, sometimes your up -- sometimes your down!  Isn't that just the 'way things go'? But what if even during those ups and downs God was right there with you.  And not just right there 'with you', but actually scouting two steps ahead, making sure that even in your toughest moments, and even in your spaciest moments, that you still had the potential to reach all of your goals!  Wouldn't that make you really, really, really want to achieve those goals?? So why is it that sometimes we choke at the moment of truth?  What is it that holds us back and makes us feel embarrassed, rather than being as beautiful as each and every one of us really is?? Maybe it is time we all lifted up the veils of shyness that we are hiding behind, and let the world see all that we have been dreaming of sharing! Attached please find a Shu-Shine for the Torah portion of 'Devarim' and the Holiday of Tisha B'Av - "It's Time to Cross the River!" May we each be blessed to realize the potential of each and every moment, and to have the courage to be all that we are at the times that life invites us to shine. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu