Resettling after golus in America takes time, patience
and heavenly assistance to find one's place in life's steady
flow again.
Having found an apartment, renewed work connections, a school
for her son, Mimi was determined to have only Hashem as her
Boss, leading her through life's massive maze. All was
beginning to find a new order. All, that is, except for one
small detail -- a washing machine. How to keep your clothes
clean? Thank G-d for good friends whose "laundry service" was
quite efficient, clean, orderly and timely. Yet how much
chessed could she take advantage of? After a while, the
discomfort of the situation became more noticeable.
One morning, on the way to work, Mimi happened to pass by a
local second hand appliance store. Curiosity claimed a high
priority and Mimi peeked into the store to inquire about the
washing machine she so desperately needed. The least expensive
of the lot reached a hefty two thousand shekel. Gulping down
the price was a mouthful and the hope of a new machine vanished
from view. It seemed like a distant dream. But before the dark
cloud of doom settled in, she quickly straightened up and
thought to herself, "Hashem is the Boss and if He wants me to
have a machine, He'll find the way. In the meantime, there is
plenty to do to occupy my mind. And I don't want to be late for
work."
Her pace quickened and in a moment, she was inside the main
office at work. No sooner had she entered than the phone
rang.
She picked up the receiver and the voice on the other said,
"Hello, Mimi, remember me? I'm your former neighbor." Not
waiting for a reply, she continued. "Well, my son Yanky came
home from cheder yesterday with a piece of paper he
found lying in the front yard. It looked important, he said,
like someone's mail. It was covered with mud and it seems to
have lain there for quite some time. It was torn open and I saw
it was a letter from a bank. It seems that they owe you some
money..."
Mimi didn't know whether to sing, jump or fly with excitement.
The chances of anyone finding her mail in the front yard were
one in a million. It could have blown away or even more
probably landed in the garbage. Even more amazing was the hope
of funds coming in.
She quickly called the bank and sure enough, they affirmed that
a sum of money awaited her.
With lightning speed, she was on her way to the main branch,
where she found the waiting room before the manager's office
filled, with barely a wisp of air to breathe. People kept
streaming in, one after the other, making the central bus
station look like a rest home. The minutes ticked away along
with the patience of the crowd. Finally, her turn came. The
manager confirmed that monies she had earned when working for
the goverment some twenty years before were now being
allocated. Mimi listened eagerly as his fingers tapped the
keyboard and waited for the screen to announce the final good
news. The printer soon began spewing reams of paper. Apparently
those work years had been quite productive.
One thousand shekel reported, two thousand, figures and more
figures appeared on the ever growing megilla rolling
out. The computer
came to a stop. The manager looked up at Mimi with a grin.
"Well, Geveret, you are now the proud owner of 8,000 shekel."
Mimi, stunned in her chair, just grinned back in awe. The dream
of a washing machine was closer than she had thought. More
important, however, was the gentle loving reminder that the
Boss knows just what we need, and when.
