Recently, I was elated to hear that my daughter had left Shaare Zedek hospital content that the surgery to remove a growth under her eyelid had been successful, Baruch Hashem. It is always difficult when a loved one must endure a painful experience while separated by land and sea, but when I heard about the hashgachah she had encountered I was comforted that the One Above was again watching over our family.
My daughter works as a teacher’s assistant in a playgroup in Eretz Yisrael. After receiving a teacher’s certification from the challenging Israeli program of the Bais Yaakov in Yerushalayim, my daughter has become a well-qualified, loving and experienced teacher.
Attending her playgroup this year is a little boy who requires some extra assistance in various ways. Without reserve, my daughter has been taking devoted care of this child. She is careful to make sure that his time at the playgroup is as pleasant as possible.
When my frightened and bewildered daughter, Rachel, showed up at Shaare Zedek, she joyfully recognized the female manager of the hospital’s outpatient section. It was her special student’s mother.
Yes, it was payback time! The woman treated Rachel like a queen. She sat her down at her desk, got her coffee, and ensured that she would not have to wait long to be admitted. And then she offered to leave her desk to accompany my daughter into the operating room, remaining with her until the doctors and nurses began to do their work.
We just never know. Besides all the rewards awaiting us in the next world, Hashem can give us extra assistance – from out of nowhere. At any time or in any place, He can send His various messengers to help pave the way for us to more easily handle our burdens.
The woman carefully helped “mother” my daughter in her time of need, just as my daughter had “mothered” her son this year. This reciprocal experience is a great life example of “what we give, we get.” Rachel will always be grateful for the generous assistance she received at the hospital, just like this kind woman is grateful for the daily assistance her son receives in the playgroup.
Later in the day, Rachel received a surprise phone call – from the woman in the hospital who called to see how she was feeling after the surgery. With her busy schedule and many responsibilities at the hospital, she took the time to call. Rachel informed the woman that I planned to write a story about the help that she gave my daughter that day.
The real story, though, is the one being written in Shamayim about each of us. The story in the next world will include every instance whereby we went out of our way to help another precious human being; another of Hashem’s children. He is indeed keeping a careful record.
So don’t hesitate to go out of your way for someone else’s benefit. You will be glad you did.