Mariam was ashamed. She had hurt someone with a sharp rejoinder.
Mariam said shamefacedly to the Rabbi, "I am so ashamed, Lord. I hurt her."
The Rabbi gently answered, "I will give her grace."
Sometimes we hurt another. Let us pray for them.
And if something we have done has resulted in negative consequences for another, let us show our repentance by doing whatever we prudently can in order to alleviate those consequences.
Mariam was praying for a troubled community.
She asked the Rabbi, "Lord, what about them?"
The Rabbi kindly answered, "I will pour oil on troubled waters."
Mariam was thinking about the strong reaction one person had shown that day.
She said sturdily to the Rabbi, "He's stubborn, Lord."
The Rabbi quietly answered, "He's scared."
Sometimes what we mistake for difficult behaviour may be due to fear or past hurt.
Mariam had just been through a time of suffering.
She wept to the Rabbi, "So much suffering, Lord; like a rush of rainwater, drowning me."
The Rabbi gently comforted her, "Remember, the rain washes off the dead branches of sin from your soul; but also waters the new seeds, freshens the pond, and leaves the rainbow in the sky - a sign of hope, that things will not always be like this."
Mariam told the Rabbi as she cleaned the house, "Lord, someone questioned the simplicity of my life."
The Rabbi answered, "Utter simplicity is always intriguing to the worldly mind. For the simple reason that the worldly mind is complicated."
Mariam awoke to the realisation of what the Rabbi had been trying to teach her at evening worship the previous day.
"I was born to be free."
Mariam was worried. She had been trying to spend more time in prayer, but so many commitments for others kept on getting in the way.
The Rabbi told her, "Don't worry - you are giving out the strength you have received in prayer."
