A stranger’s heartfelt emotions lifted my spirits.
Justin Verlander had just hurled his first pitch at a Tigers spring training game March 12 in Lakeland, Florida, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Going to spring training has been on my husband Don’s bucket list for a while. Finally, we were there.
But after that first pitch, calls and texts started coming telling us that, back home, Temple Israel and our Jewish community had just been attacked.
Despite being far from West Bloomfield, we felt the pain, the fear, the gravity of this situation. And I ached for many close friends who have grandchildren in the temple’s preschool.
For most of the game, we fielded phone calls and texts and followed news reports, while trying to keep an eye on the Tigers. A JN reporter called to ask me for sources. Family and friends, some I hadn’t talked to in a while, texted with words of support. Don responded to family and friends in Israel who had heard the news. Ironically, we had just checked on them the day before.
With all our activity, I finally realized we might be impacting the experience for those around us. I apologized to the woman next to me and explained that “something bad” had happened back home. Five minutes later, she tapped me on the arm. “Is it OK if I pray for you?” she said quietly. I asked her if I could tell her what was going on. She didn’t want to know if it was too personal.
It was personal, but also so much more than that. As I explained about the attack on Temple Israel, about the 140 preschoolers, the staff and security officers in the building, the smoke billowing from the roof and the platoon of first responders, she began to cry. This Christian woman understood.
She grasped my hands. We closed our eyes. The tumult of the game faded. I listened as she asked God to look after the children at the temple, to watch over the Jewish people and Israel, and to give us peace. By the end of that brief heartfelt prayer, we both had tears in our eyes. I thanked her with a hug.
The Tigers may have lost that game, but I won much more. This woman’s gesture brought comfort and reminded me we Jews are not alone.
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