Lobby of Love (Continued)

It was Sabbath’s end. The sun had set. One of the two girls we had met previously sat waiting for us. Scrolling through her phone, she relaxed in a khaki colored chair. Her dark blue dress was heavily planted with white baby breath blooms.

“How was your Sabbath?” She looked up and asked while I set up my gear.

We talked of my day. Then hers.

She was at peace and had clearly benefitted from her day off.

Then up walked an interrupting skunk. It was not the black and with white striped kind that is bent on becoming stinky roadkill. Instead, she was a tall gentle faced seventeen year old whose hotel pajama wear mimicked the cuddly, cartoon creature. We giggled over all aspects of Pepe Le Pew, then I felt it safe enough to ask the difficult question.

“Are you living in the hotel since the nightmare?” She gave a little up and down nod. Her pleasant smile dropped. Using my hands to form a standing roofline, then lowering my fingertips to mimic a collapse, I continued. “What about your home? Is it standing?”

“All the windows are blown out,” she replied. “But a neighbor said it is ok.”

Her family had evacuated the northern town of Kiryat Shmona on short notice. Taking only three days of clothing, she had to buy things like her new animal farm PJ’s. “I miss my room. And my space.” She ended with.

I did my best to encourage her. Reminding her that millions of people around the world were praying for families like hers and that at I represented those myriads of folks who cared. IPad photos of our recent Colorado, Wyoming, and Arkansas prayer vigils amazed her. It proved that college flag-waving-Hamas-madness wasn’t the norm. The three girls leaned in to see the Israeli names written on prayerful palms. They were touched that Americans had prayed for their nation.

We spoke of trust in God.

It was getting late. We hugged. Then selfied up and said our goodbyes.

Tootie, as was her nickname, looked me in the eye. With all the meaning she could muster she said, “thank you for coming.”