Eliyahu HaNavi and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi stopped to spend the night in the
home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the two stay in
the mansion's guestroom. Instead, Eliyahu HaNavi and Rabbi Yehoshua were given a
space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, Eliyahu
HaNavi saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When Reb Yehoshua asked why, the
Prophet replied..."Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable
farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let their two
guests sleep in their beds where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun
came up the next morning the guests found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their
only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

Reb Yehoshua was infuriated and asked Eliyahu HaNavi accusingly, "How could you
have let this happen?! The first man had everything, yet you helped him. The second
family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."

"Things aren't always what they seem," Eliyahu the Prophet replied. "When we stayed
in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the
wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good
fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the
farmer's bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.
Things aren't always what they seem."

This is exactly what is going on when things don't turn out as we would like. When
you know that G-d is always in control, you also know that, even though you may
never understand how, everything is for the good.