Something precious is taken from us and we think of it as something we have lost, instead of something we have had. We remember how empty our lives are now, and tend to forget how full and rich they were before; we forget the many days and years of happiness we lived when the one we love was still with us. We thank God
for our treasures when we have them, but cease giving
thanks when they are fled.
But God never gives; God only lends.
So instead of murmuring because our precious things have been taken from us, let us be grateful to God for having lent them to us. Let us count the past happy days not as loss, but as gain. We have had them; and now that they are ended, let us turn the loss to glorious gain – the gain that comes with new courage, with nobler tasks, with a wider outlook on life and duty.
Morris Joseph was an author and respected British rabbi.
