![\"\"](\"http:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/files\/2018\/07\/robert-browning-2-300x250.jpg\")
Robert Browning www.thefamouspeople.com<\/p><\/div>\n
Robert Browning in the midst of despair and grief and while picking up the pieces of his fragmented life after the death of his wife, turned to the teachings and sayings of Rabbi ben Ezra for inspiration and comfort. \u00a0From this experience, a desire grew to help young people just starting out on their life paths, \u00a0and so he wrote a poem dedicated to Rabbi ben Ezra’s teachings.<\/p>\n
Rabbi ben Ezra stated that, “A man’s value is not measured by the years he has lived, or even the work he has done. A man’s value is measured by the character he has molded” (Watson, 1988, p. 271-272). \u00a0If you were to die tomorrow, what would you wish to be remembered for? How would people describe your character? My dad taught me that the most important value is having integrity. He would often tell us that material items meant nothing. You can’t take them with you when you die and they don’t reflect who you are as a person. \u00a0Watson (1988) shares that, “in the rush and hurry of our overly-ambitious lives, so many of us have lost our sense of perspective. We place too much stress on material things, and on personal achievement” (p.272). \u00a0As my Dad would point out to me, integrity, on the other hand is priceless as your reputation in this life and as you pass over into the next. \u00a0I want my actions and my words to be reflective of a character that my children and their children would continue to be proud of long after I have departed.<\/p>\n
Robert Browning through the teachings of Rabbi ben Ezra encouraged us to not dread death and the inevitable passing of time. “Approach the twilight of life with joy and hope. Approach the last of life with eagerness, not gloom. For the last of life is the best of life. Trust God and be not afraid” (Watson, 1988, p.272). \u00a0Robert Browning in his 1864 poem “Rabbi ben Ezra” states:<\/p>\n
“Grow old along with me!<\/p>\n
The best is yet to be,<\/p>\n
The last of life, for which the first was made;<\/p>\n
Our times are in his hands<\/p>\n
Who saith, “A whole I planned,<\/p>\n
Youth shows but half; trust God; see all, nor be afraid!”<\/p>\n
(Watson, 1988, p.273)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The words “trust God; see all, nor be afraid” jumped off the page at me and I immediately felt God’s comfort and warmth. There is NO need for me to fear the passage of time, or what is to come. I need to trust in God and have faith in His perfect plan. Browning makes this clear when he states, “Perfect I call thy plan; thanks that I was a man! Maker, remake, complete – I trust what thou shalt do!” (Watson, 1988, p. 274). \u00a0 The Rabbi \u00a0also sums this up when he said;<\/p>\n
Grow old along with me. Live my kind of life, putting your faith and trust in God. Then you will be serene and happy in your old age; you will not be afraid of the end.<\/p>\n
(Watson, 1988, p. 275)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
I was grateful for this much needed reminder. My “to do” task no longer seems daunting or something to be feared. This reading has affirmed for me that I need to continue to put my trust and faith in God and in His perfect plan for me. Once I do this, I know that sereneness and happiness will fulfill me and that I will have no reason to be afraid of the end.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Watson, L.E. (1988). Light from Many Lamps<\/em>, (1st Fireside Edition). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.<\/p>\n
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I have a ‘to do’ list sitting on my desk. One of the items waiting to be completed is writing my will. It is a task that gives me great anxiety and fills me with swirling pools of dread in the pit of my stomach. I know that it is a mandatory and essential task, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,16,24,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ldrs500","category-light-from-many-lamps","category-unit-10","category-unit-9","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions\/409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/awalkinthewoods\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}