Tammy is an adorable little teddy bear of a girl just turned
two years old. The second youngest child in a family of ten
ba'h, Tammy is constantly surrounded by people older
and taller than she is. One day, several months ago, one of
these bigger people accidently stepped on poor Tammy's toe.
She cried, her mother comforted her and checked the damage.
Her toe was swollen and red but at first it didn't appear to
be too serious. Then an infection set in. Little Tammy
couldn't comfortably wear a shoe on her left foot and walked
with a noticeable limp. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic
cream but it did not appear to help.
Tammy continued to be in pain. "Boo-boo toe," she
whimpered.
Three different types of oral antibiotics were then tried but
to no avail. Poor Tammy was taken to the doctor's office so
often, it became part of her weekly routine, a ritual she
soon came to dread. How terrible for this little girl,
already suffering, to have her painful toe poked and prodded
by this white-coated stranger.
Finally, the doctor made his decision. The only way to cure
the problem would be to lance and drain the infection from
the toe.
When Tammy's mother took her to the doctor's office for this
procedure, the little girl knew only too well by now that
this destination was not a pleasant place.
"No, no, Ima," she begged. "No go in there."
Sadly, it was the first sentence Tammy had ever spoken.
"But, Tammy, honey, the doctor is going to make your boo-boo
toe all better," her mother tried to explain. "It will hurt
for a little bit, but then, soon, b'ezras Hashem, the
pain will go away and you'll be able to wear your shoe again.
You'll be able to walk and run and be fine."
But Tammy continued to sob in fear. At her young age, there
was no way she could understand that the temporary pain she
would have to suffer would result in long term benefits.
Forcing herself to endure Tammy's agonized shrieks, her
mother picked her up, carried her into the doctor's office
and held her firmly while the procedure was done. Tammy then
looked up at her mother with wet, reproachful eyes, as if to
say, "I love you and trust you, Ima. So why did you let this
happen to me?"
*
In the same way, when misfortune or illness strikes, we tend
to look upon the experience in a similar light.
"Why do I have to suffer this?" we ask, unable to comprehend
the real reason behind it. "Why, Hashem, when we love and
trust You, do You allow this difficult or painful experience
to occur?"
Like little Tammy, we do not understand all the reasons for
life's painful problems and difficulties. But Hashem knows
what is right for us, what we need for a kapora or
growth experience. The short term pain may be for our long
term gain, even if we do not realize it at the time.
*
Recently, a man, in seemingly good health who never felt the
need for check-ups, suffered from an extremely painful kidney
stone. While undergoing treatment, the doctor discovered he
had a far more serious, life-threatening health problem. The
condition, if caught in time, was curable. If not for the
kidney stone, the man might not have found out about his
other illness until it was too late, G-d forbid.
In other situations, an illness can also be a blessing in
disguise. For instance, last summer, I contracted hepatitis.
Never before in my life had I felt so sick. For the first
couple of weeks, all I could do was lie in bed feeling
utterly miserable and sorry for myself.
"Why did this awful illness have to happen to me?" I moaned.
The doctor told me I would have to take at least six weeks
off work to recuperate.
Then finally, I realized two wonderful things. One was
something called cumulative sick leave. I had accumulated
exactly six weeks' worth. The other was that six weeks was
just the amount of time I needed to complete the novel of my
family history which I had started, but lacked the time to
finish. If not for my convalescence time, I might never have
completed it.
When asked, "How are you?" the usual reply is an automatic,
"Boruch Hashem." But someone who has just recovered
from an illness and is feeling fine again, replies with a
definitely fervent "Boruch Hashem!" We can then better
appreciate what an incredible blessing `normal' good health
is.
And like little Tammy, whose toe is all better by now, we
must learn to trust Hashem to know exactly what we need.
