The Opportunity Within the Wait

One of the most difficult tests a person can face is waiting for a yeshuah that seems to be taking forever. At first, the person is full of enthusiasm. He prays with all of his heart. He takes on extra mitzvot. He strengthens himself in many areas of avodat Hashem. He believes the salvation is going to come at any moment. But as the days turn into months and the months turn into years, it becomes much harder to continue. The tefillot begin to feel repetitive. The new commitments become harder to maintain. The person starts wondering if anything is ever going to change. If he knew exactly when the salvation was going to come, he would be able to manage much more easily, even if it were still a long way off. It is the uncertainty that makes the challenge so difficult. The feeling that perhaps it may never happen can be overwhelming. Yet that is precisely why this person has such a golden opportunity to achieve greatness. The harder it is to continue, the greater the value of the avodah. We are in this world to grow spiritually. In the end, that is the only thing that will truly matter. When a person feels like he is being ignored and his avodah is not being appreciated, every effort becomes infinitely more valuable. We have no idea what goes on in people's lives. We have no idea what struggles they face each day. Only Hashem knows. It is entirely possible that people who appear to be ordinary are, in fact, among the greatest people of the generation because of what they have to overcome in order to produce a heartfelt tefillah, because of what they have to overcome in order to continue growing in their avodat Hashem. They have every reason to turn away, yet they keep pushing themselves forward. That is true greatness. And that greatness is eternal. If a person could see how much he was growing spiritually from one moment to the next, he would run to continue. But in this world, we are not shown the true value of our efforts. And that is exactly what makes them so precious. Sometimes, however, Hashem gives a person a little chizuk to help him keep going, even before the yeshuah arrives. A woman related that all of her friends were married with children, while she had been hoping and praying for years to become a kallah. Over the years, she had taken on many kabbalot. One of her more recent commitments was to read a sefer on emunah every day for forty consecutive days. The book was not specifically about shidduchim. It was simply a source of general chizuk and emunah. Last week, she found herself praying especially hard. She added new areas of growth in her avodat Hashem and invested tremendous effort into her tefillot. Yet nothing seemed to be changing. She became discouraged. One morning, she cried to Hashem from the depths of her heart, longing for the day when she would finally begin building her own family. She told Hashem that she had continued going forward all these years. She had maintained her kabbalot and kept striving to grow. She was not asking for proof that the yeshuah was coming. She only wanted a little chizuk to know that Hashem appreciated her efforts. That night, she opened the emunah book that she had been learning daily. She intended to open directly to the page where her bookmark was located, but accidentally opened to a different page. There, right in front of her, in large letters, was the title of the chapter: "Singles—Don't Give Up." She could hardly believe her eyes. She felt as if Hashem was speaking directly to her. The message gave her tremendous strength. It renewed her enthusiasm and helped her continue moving forward with renewed energy. The truth is that Hashem appreciates every person's efforts far more than we can imagine. Every moment of avodah is precious to Him. Every tefillah. Every act of growth. Every commitment that is maintained despite the difficulty. Especially when it is hard. We hope that everyone receives the yeshuah for which they are waiting. But in the meantime, they should know that the greatest gain they can possibly achieve is the avodah they continue to do each day.