A giggle
Resembling the joyous echo
Of glasses meeting
With bewildered hope
Sounded throughout a tent
A four-doored dwelling
In the dusty desert
Belonging to Abraham, our Patriarch
And Sarah, our Matriarch
The Sarah that never stopped

Life is countless tests
Unpredictable, at random moments
Testing our belief in G-d
Our relationships with others
Our integrity, loyalty
And commitment to our faith

As imperfect beings we often fail
Falling into the depths of anxiety, depression
Into the dark hole of addiction
Losing all sense of reality
Feeling the need to be in control
Forgetting that control is G-d’s job

We halt in our tracks
Falling lower
But not giving into gravity
Still holding tight onto the past
Straining our biceps
Short of breath
Filled with the intense urge
To give up

Sarah struggled
Childlessness
Loneliness
An unwell husband
Hagar and her evil son
An unbearably hot climate

But Sarah never stopped
A miraculous belief
Held her to her purpose
She recognized the reason
Why she was sent down into this world
To serve G-d
And purify her surroundings
Into a magnificent palace
Where the Almighty King of Kings
Could feel at home

Despite her difficulties
There was fresh bread
Ignited candles
And G-d’s Presence
Gracing her tent
Day in, day out
Because struggles can make life beautiful

Sarah was a warrior
She fought against pain
Against marital strife
And the discomforts of the terrain
Her battle method was love

Guests were served with love
Abraham was cared for with love
And she never despaired when times were tough
Because G-d granted her the gift
To see her life with a panoramic view
And accept His will with love

Sarah was getting old and frail
But her passion for G-d and guests
Remained
Her candles burned
Her bread was fresh
The Shechina still rested on her tent

Aging can get a person down
Midlife crises, empty nesting
In this day and age of Botox, fillers
Plastic surgery and Photoshop
Countless women will put their all
Into hiding those wrinkles and sagging chin
Forgetting the concept of
“The older the wiser”

Ninety-year-old Sarah laughed
When the angels told her she would have a child
Decades of prayer payed off
Finally, her dream of motherhood became real

Channel the Sarah energy in your life
Find beauty in ugliness
Find faith in the fire
And everyone around, inspire
May you be blessed

 

— Sarah Nessya Wolfe
Bnos Menachem
Brooklyn, New York, USA