A Personal Babysitter
One morning, while walking through the streets of Lakewood, a good friend of mine, Reb Yitzchok, approached me with a smile.
“I have an incredible story to tell you,” he said. Reb Yitzchok has a daughter who attends therapy twice a week. The sessions are essential for her development, but they are not covered by insurance, requiring the family to pay the significant expense out-of-pocket.
On therapy mornings, he is always careful to finish Shacharis in time so he can take her. But one morning, the baal tefillah davening at the amud recited the prayers at an unusually slow pace, carefully enunciating every word. As the minutes ticked by, Reb Yitzchok realized he would likely miss the therapy appointment if he stayed until the end.
His first response was to leave early, but he stopped himself.
“A person never loses by doing what's right," he thought. 'My responsibility now is to daven properly. Hashem is in charge of everything else. If my daughter misses today's session, Hashem can help her in other ways. If she needs to get there, He can arrange that too. Whatever happens, I don't lose by finishing my Shacharis.” With that, he remained until the very end of the tefillah.
When he arrived home, his wife excitedly greeted him. “You won't believe what just happened!”
A babysitter watched their baby each morning. Ordinarily, they would bring the baby to her home. But that morning, the babysitter called and said, "I'm coming to pick up the baby.” Surprised, Reb Yitzchok's wife asked why.
The babysitter explained that she had an urgent appointment, and since their baby was the only child she was caring for, she could simply bring the baby along with her. Realizing that therapy was about to begin, Reb Yitzchok's wife quickly asked, “Would you mind watching my older children for a few minutes while I take my daughter to therapy?"
"Of course,” the babysitter replied.
When Reb Yitzchok's wife returned, the babysitter explained how she was able to come. When she first started babysitting, she had intended to care for several children. But since she had just gotten married, she decided to watch just one baby. That way, she could still enjoy caring for a child while retaining the flexibility to run errands or attend appointments whenever necessary.
Only because of that decision months earlier was she able to pick up the baby herself and remain with Reb Yitzchok's other children while his wife rushed their daughter to therapy on that particular morning.
Reb Yitzchok later reflected on the remarkable chain of events. Long before he faced the test of whether to leave Shacharis early, Hashem had already put every piece into place. The babysitter's personal decision weeks earlier, her appointment that morning, and her unusual trip to their home all came together so that he would not lose by choosing to stay until the end of Shacharis.
A person never loses by doing what is right. We may not always see how Hashem will work things out, but often, as was the case with Reb Yitzchok, we later discover that He had prepared the solution long before the challenge ever appeared.
