![\"bitachonfi\"](\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/bitachonfi-300x166.png\")
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Imagine a five-year-old, walking with her mother into the hospital for her second chemotherapy treatment. The little girl knows what\u2019s coming. She remembers the pain. She understands the nausea. She knows what it\u2019s like to brush her hair and watch clumps come out. Yet, she holds her mother\u2019s hand, and goes along, because \u201cMommy said I need to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The child doesn\u2019t understand cancer. She certainly doesn\u2019t understand how throwing up for a week cures it. But she knows that Mommy loves her. She knows that Mommy takes care of her. And she knows that Mommy knows what\u2019s best. She fully trusts her mother.<\/p>\n
That is the type of trust we can develop in Hashem\u2014the almost blind trust of a child. I know that Hashem is looking out for my best interests. I know that Hashem loves me more than I love myself. And I know that Hashem knows better than I do what\u2019s for my best. So I trust Hashem. I trust that Hashem is right here, in charge of my life, orchestrating the events for my ultimate good.<\/p>\n
So I walk through life fully confident. Not confident that things will turn out as I have planned them. Not confident that life will have a Hollywood ending. But confident that Hashem has chosen the best path for me, and is leading me down it. So I take Hashem\u2019s hand, so to speak, and walk with unwavering trust.<\/p>\n
Taking Control of My Thoughts<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
One of the best techniques to grow in trusting Hashem is to memorize certain phrases and repeat them over and over like a mantra: Hashem loves me more than I love myself.<\/i> Hashem knows better than I do what is for my best. <\/i><\/p>\n
When I say these phrases again and again, they start to sink in. I begin to recognize on an emotional level<\/i> that \u201cI don\u2019t really know.\u201d I learn to trust in Hashem\u2019s wisdom and kindness. And then I can do that which we humans find so difficult to do\u2014accept what Hashem has decreed with joy.<\/p>\n
Real bitachon<\/i> takes a lifetime to develop. It\u2019s a growth process, with many steps along the journey. Each of the Avos<\/i> and Imahos<\/i> had many, many difficult life situations\u2014not because Hashem couldn\u2019t do any better or because He was uncaring, but because we can\u2019t learn bitachon<\/i> in the beis midrash<\/i>. We can\u2019t learn to trust Hashem from a book or a tape. It\u2019s only when we are challenged by life situations that we are forced to respond. Do we transcend or do we just crumble? Do we search for the bigger picture, for the reason why Hashem might be doing this? Or are we left with questions and complaints about the way He runs the world?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Imagine a five-year-old, walking with her mother into the hospital for her second chemotherapy treatment. The little girl knows what\u2019s coming. She remembers the pain. She understands the nausea. She knows what it\u2019s like to brush her hair and watch clumps come out. Yet, she holds her mother\u2019s hand, and goes along, because \u201cMommy said<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132836,"featured_media":38494,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n