Leviticus 16:30
“For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God.”
Yom Kippur literally means "Day of Atonement". It is the holiest day of the year, devoted to reflect and repent on sins committed in the past year. The Day takes place 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Day is spent "afflicting your souls" by abstaining from the body's main needs - an expression of pure faith in God.
Life can simply be described as a collection of tests and rewards. The trying times are our tests and what we gain from those tests are our rewards. Each day we face these tests and how we respond determines those rewards. Some tests we will pass, but much more we fail. Even in failure we are rewarded through the lessons we learn from our mistakes and the strengthening of our soul after getting back up when we've been knocked down. I've referenced before in this blog the importance of how we respond to failure. Pain and failure is inevitable in (trading) life. If we do not learn from these tests and move forward, than we are not living.
Take today to reflect on the pain you've caused yourself and others. Remember the mistakes you made and the failures you endured this year. Take everything you can from those experiences and ask for God's grace. Your soul will be freed and you will become wiser and stronger than before. Life is amazing in that it can take you from a state ignorant bliss, to the greatest heights - higher than you ever dreamed - than leave you feeling sorrow you never thought was possible. Life's trials can not be forecasted. They can not be avoided and hit us when we least expect it. All we can do is batten down the hatches and hold on, for it is always the most beautiful after the storm.
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