My wife received a sweet note from my daughter’s day camp regarding a special activity for mothers and daughters together. While she wasn’t bored or looking for extra activity, my wife was happy to participate in something she deemed to be of educational value, and she marked down the date. In the meantime, it seemed that others thought this was a good date as well.
The fact was that people who organized vacations for women chose the same date; and that her mother really wanted to go on vacation...with her. A few phone calls yielded the information that none of her sisters would be able to take their mother on vacation instead of her.
Now my wife did not know what to do. On the one hand, her mother wanted to go on a vacation with her, and on the other hand, there was a special activity for mothers planned for the same day in our daughter’s day camp.
Going with her mother was kibbud horim; going with our daughter was investing in chinuch. Her mother would understand; our daughter was less capable of understanding. Her mother needed the vacation desperately, and there was no way for her to go without her daughter at her side. Our daughter was still a child, with many other opportunities ahead, to make up for the lack.
My wife deliberated back and forth between her responsibilities to her mother and to her daughter, and then she simply turned to Hashem with a heartfelt request: “Ribbono shel Olam, lead me to the right decision.”
In the meantime, she did nothing, and hoped for the best.
The next day the yeshuah came: The day camp sent a notice informing us that they had pushed off the special activity for another day.
This was incredible! The feeling was: You daven to Hashem, and He answers! “For Who is like Hashem, our G-d – whenever we call out to Him!”
