Don’t Get in God’s Way

What was the best advice you were ever given?

Sometimes you have such a significant conversation you even remember where you were when it happened. For me, it was February of 2008. I had just returned from Utah and was standing on my front porch on Neilwood Drive in Rockville, Maryland — suburban Washington D.C. My good friend, Barrie Feld, had just called from Cleveland.

“What’s happening in your life?” she asked.

“Well, I just got back from Utah. I went away with seven other women to talk about how we could change the world. One of them owns a gorgeous place there. We came up with some amazing ideas; one is to create something like a “Birthright” for mothers.”

And then she gave me the best advice I had ever received:

“Just don’t get in God’s way.”

The Almighty is incredible and can make anything happen, but we stand in the way. Our own worries, fears, insecurities, old tapes in our heads…all of it blocks God from getting in and making the magic happen. Getting out of God’s way does not mean not making our supreme effort. On the contrary, it is through our effort that we grow and realize our personal potential. But we, as mere mortals, are limited. God is unlimited, and that means anything is possible.

Recently I was dreaming with a Momentum board member about what could be possible and asked her to help me make it possible. “Lori,” she said, “You think too much of me, lower the bar.”

“No,” I answered. “The bar never goes down. It only goes up.”

Because Barrie was right. Our Sages teach us that “G-d will help you in the way you want to go.” So why not choose up?