Getting used to squat toilets in Jordan helped make things easier for me when I got to India. It was a blessing in disguise: something we encounter all the time in life. If we have faith and trust in G-d, we'll be able to see how G-d is helping us and doing everything for our good... even if it might not seem like it at first glance.

There are so many times in travel that I am stuck in a situation and I just want to cry (and ok, I’ll admit it, sometimes I do).  I’m sitting there looking at this hole in the ground that calls itself a toilet and I want to cry.  I’m looking at this bucket of warm river water that is my “shower” and I want to cry. My luggage is lost, again. Why does G-d have to do these things to me?

Of course, there are much greater challenges we face in life; things like death and disease.  But the thing about travel is that inconveniences and annoyances like these are pretty much everyday occurrences.  You have to deal with so much on such a daily basis that something that might seem small in the grand scheme of things is, at that moment, quite huge.

The challenge is trying to see everything as divine providence.  Other nations have an angel watching over them, controlling their fate.  But not us Jews, oh no. We have G-d himself watching over us and we have no fate.  We alone have the power to create our own fate.  What G-d wants from us is to make the right choices and He gently pushes us in the right direction, lovingly, like a father of small children.  Unfortunately, most of the time we don’t see it.

In this week’s Torah portion, the Jews, who are now on the verge of entering the land of Israel, get some pretty strong reminders from Moses.  He reminds them of the sin of the spies.  He reminds them of the sin of the golden calf. He reminds them of how they wanted to return to Egypt.  In short, he keeps reminding them of the times when things got tough and instead of trusting G-d to do what’s best for them, the Jews started crying.

I think that’s what I do a lot – what everyone does a lot.  We cry over nothing.  G-d is giving us presents and we’re crying and pushing them away because the wrapping paper makes them look like garbage, when inside is really a very nice gem.  In travel, I find it especially difficult to remember this because so often my defenses are down: I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m cold, I’m cranky, and my luggage is halfway around the world.  But that’s when it’s most important to remember that G-d is there, taking care of us.  I’m tired and cold… so my husband can give me a hug. I’m hungry… so I can eat some fruit and make a blessing on it.  My luggage is lost… so I can go to the store and buy new underwear and be reimbursed for it.  And that’s part of the crucial message Moses wants the Jews to remember, first and foremost, as they enter the land of Israel.  To look back on those times when they didn’t trust in G-d, and to remember them for the future so that next time they would remember G-d… and trust in Him, and have faith.

Shabbat shalom!