Thanx my friends.
Bards? Yo memory is suffering from too much woodford.
Time to switch into REAL man's liquor... like ammeretto.....
Here's a nice A&W moment for a Shabbos Gift:
On the road this week, while driving I started nostalgically thinking about my the more "exciting" lustful moments of my "past" (before frumkeit). Then I stopped meself and said to meself: "Self," I said, "I really wish i had NEVER been exposed to this "fun" side of life, so that when confronted by lustful thoughts i would be able to turn away from them and say 'eeyew, ickypoo!' and not have to deal with knowing about them. But now that I DO KNOW, I am no longer in that parsha. I'm now in the parsha, like it says in the gemorrah, of responding 'I KNOW it is pleasurable, and even fun, but "What can i do?", my Creator has commanded me not to go there, not to experienced this anymore. I will refrain because it is the will of Hashem, my Creator. And therefore i will not even entertain the memories, for to dwell on them and enjoy them might weaken my resolve to serve Hashem as he requests of me."
So then i said some tehillim by heart while I drove, and asked Hashem to remove these lustful thoughts/memories from my mind, which He kindly did. Then, JUST A FEW MINUTES LATER I was spared from a VERY bad accident - while making a k-turn, i almost backed out of a driveway into an SUV going at about 50-60 mph. I noticed it coming at the last second and hit my break - mamash missed by maybe 1 ft.!!!
Naturally I was thanking Hashem again and again while driving home. I stopped at a light behind a car, thinking about how I'm not really davenning well with kavannah, not completely 'spiritually fit" as the program aims us to become, wondering how to motivate myself to get there. And, B"EMES!! when the light changed, i noticed the license plate on the car ahead of me, which read LETGODN - "Let G-d In", or "Let Go N Let G-D", which is DC's motto. (No, it was a NJ plate, not a Texas plate.)
Now, if THAT"S not Hashgacha Produce, I don't know WHAT is!! Hashem is waiting for us, right there next to us, all the time, with his hand outstretched! All we need to do is to reach out and take it!! And then HOLD ON TIGHT FOR DEAR LIFE!!
Have a GREAT and HOLY Shabbos Kodesh, everyone!! Bli neder, I'm gonna try to get to shul early, to daven better, and to learn more this Shabbos. Ulai it will rub off into the rest of the week!!
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