Remember When…(Matot-Masei)

After 40 years, the Jewish nation is on the cusp of entering into the Holy Land and God reviews with them the 42 stops of their long and difficult journey through the desert. God seems to want to communicate that despite all that they have been through together, He did not abandon them. Similarly, as they inhabit Israel and enter a more mundane existence, God reassures the nascent nation that He will continue to be intimately by their side.

When our children encounter difficulties or are anxious about an upcoming experience, we can remind them of previous similar experiences and how they were able to get through them. Regardless of what the previous strategy was, we help them see that they have been here before and can work through this too. Using personal history as context helps them draw on their inner resources to do it again, and perhaps this time, even more effectively.