What is everyone doing?
When the kids come home on Friday afternoon, there is always a lot to be done. Even though most of the cooking and cleaning is already done, the children still need to bathe and eat. In addition, I have a little challah bakery on Fridays, and customers come to pick up their orders on Friday afternoon. There is never any shortage of things to do on Fridays!
Usually we encourage the older ones to get started with their showers as soon as they get home. This way, there is enough time for everyone to bathe.
But this week, they just didn’t seem to be moving along. Every time I inquired whether someone had showered, the person seemed to be upstairs, talking to my visiting in-laws.
Now, I am all for fostering relationships with grandparents. But couldn’t they talk after their showers, or during the week, or on Shabbos? Did it have to be right now, while they were supposed to be getting ready for Shabbos?
We did finally manage to get everyone ready for Shabbos in plenty of time, and I forgot all about it.
This morning, when I put on my apron to bake, my children suddenly ran upstairs. They came down waving a brand new apron (pictured). “Surprise!” they shouted.
Boy, was I surprised!
As it turns out, they made the apron last Friday, when they were all so busy with my mother-in-law and father-in-law upstairs!
Doesn’t Hashem deserve the benefit of the doubt too?
So often, there is a good reason for what is going on that we just don’t know. As human beings, we are limited by what our eyes can see. This certainly applies to people, who sometimes have good intentions but other times do not.
How much more does this apply to Hashem, who loves and cares for us and always has our best interests in mind!
He knows exactly what we need, and he delivers every time!
Practical Bitachon
When something in life isn’t going smoothly, remember that Hashem is busy making your “surprise apron”! Whatever that surprise may turn out to be, it is something that is good for your body or soul.
Unlike the apron, we may never figure out which “surprise” was born from the wait. We can’t always make a direct correlation. This makes the challenge greater. Nevertheless, we must feel and know that all Hashem does is wonderful!
Think of an example where you actually saw your “surprise apron”. Though we often don’t recognize our “surprises” for what they are, occasionally it is very obvious. Use these cases to bolster your Bitachon!
Share your “surprise apron” example (everybody has one!) by posting a comment.
