Lobby Ladies

One of the many things I  love about my job at church is that it’s just a block away from Sarah’s High School which means at the end of each day, she just walks over to the church.  That saves me from having to go through the long ordeal of lining up in the school parking lot and spending the best years of my life jockeying for Parent Line Positioning.

Usually, I just work right up to the time she comes in the door and then we leave together but on one particular day last week, I realized she was running a little late. Steve was in my office talking and I paused briefly in our conversation to glance out into the lobby to check for signs of Sarah. I saw someone standing out there but didn’t see Sarah so I just figured she’d gotten held up and would be along shortly.

Steve and I finished our conversation and he headed out through the lobby to go back to his office. However, he was back in half a minute saying, “Becky, there’s a meltdown happening in the lobby.”

Well, I immediately went into full Pastor’s Wife Alert Mode because pastors and their wives often deal with crises and traumas of many varieties and I was gearing myself up to do whatever I could to help whoever it was who was struggling.. 

But then Steve added, “It’s Sarah. She’s the one having the meltdown.”

Well!  My Pastor’s Wife Alert Mode immediately switched to Sarah’s Mama Alert Mode and I went charging out of my office, fully intent on wrapping my arms around my daughter and rushing her home for a mama/daughter appointment with our comfy couch and  the Kleenex box.

However, when I arrived on the scene I revised my original plan. And it wasn’t because Sarah wasn’t having a meltdown. She was. She was crying huge tears and by the look on her face, had been crying for a while.  

No, the reason I ground to a halt was that Sarah’s youth pastor, Mary Ann, happened to be walking through the lobby and saw Sarah’s tears.  Mary Ann had her arm around Sarah’s shoulder and was listening to her story and speaking wise and comforting words.

And then it just so happened that Patricia, the leader Sarah’s Wednesday night girls’ group, had stopped by the church for a minute. She was standing on the other side of Sarah with tears in her eyes, listening, and speaking her own comforting words. 

By that time, Sharal, the preschool director, had heard the commotion and had come out of her office; she just stood there near us all and although she didn’t know anythng about the story going on, she had empathetic tears in her eyes.

We are talking some tender-hearted lobby ladies, here.

I put on hold my strong temptation to rush in and do my mama thing and just stood a couple of feet away, watching the scene unfold. I felt such gratitude that the special women in my daughter’s life would take her into their circle of caring and comfort and wisdom, helping to bear her burden.  No one asked them to help or talked them into taking time out of their day–they instinctively and lovingly rushed to Sarah’s side, shedding tears with her, shedding tears for her.

As a person who has spent seventeen years of my life traveling full-time in musical ministry and not having the privilege of living in a community, it was an especially sweet moment for me to see my daughter encircled by community, to see her so well cared for by the women in her life who love her.

As for the reason behind her tears?  

Although Sarah has loved school this year and is doing well, a particular incident had taken place earlier that morning that really upset her and she had fought back tears the rest of the day.    

In fact, as she was getting her things from her locker and preparing to head over to the church to meet me, a favorite English teacher of hers stopped by and asked if she was going to be attending his after school Socrates Cafe Club that she is part of.  She told him that she thought she’d better head straight home because she had a lot of homework.

Although she wasn’t obviously crying at that moment, the best teachers are highly tuned in to their students–what is said, what isn’t said, their tone of voice, their overall demeanor.  Without giving any sign that he knew she was struggling he said, “Well, I just want to encourage you today, Sarah; you are a great writer and you have a brilliant mind.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sarah told me later (after we finally got home) how much those words meant to her at that moment and how much she appreciated that teacher taking just a few seconds to build her up and encourage her.

At a time of crisis in Sarah’s life, her life was positively impacted by one caring teacher and three loving lobby ladies.

Although their needs may not be as obvious as Sarah’s, there are people everywhere, all around us who are desperate for just one encouraging word, one friendly smile.  Who can you have an impact on today?

Show a little love. Show a little kindness. Make a big difference.

Be a lobby lady.