Itsik

Y’all!

Y’all just won’t believe…

I mean, maybe you will, but how could you believe that this would be possible?!?

*chill girl… take a deep breath… just tell the story…*

This morning, Aaron and I took another quick trip to Tiberias. We were to drop off a care package for a Holocaust survivor and then stop by the dry cleaner to pick up a few jackets for our host family. Then, we had tons more work ahead of us… nearly all day was already scheduled with other tasks that we committed to helping with.

We had dropped off the clothes at the dry cleaner a week ago, so we pretty much knew how to get there. We wanted to park in our “regular” parking spot (since it’s off the main street and we knew how to walk to the dry cleaner from that parking spot.) However, when we got there, the lot was full. Overflowing. Lots of angry people about to be late for work and vying for each spot that came up empty. We decided to just park on the street down a short distance from our regular spot. We turned down the street and accidentally passed *the only* parking spot on that side of the street. We were so frustrated because that meant we had to drive all the way down the street, turn around and hope for better odds on the other side of the street. We were wasting valuable time for an errand that we only had a few minutes to complete before our next appointment.

We drove all the way down the street, used the roundabout to come back down the other side and there was all the parking you could imagine in just this one spot down the road. We quickly park the car and as Aaron is parking, he looked over through my window and said, “Hey, there’s a juice stand here.” Which rung a tiny bell in my memory because my dear friend Julie back in Colorado had mentioned a juice stand that we should visit while we were in Israel.

I look out my window and was literally floored. IT WAS THE EXACT PLACE!!! We agreed that we would go get the dry cleaning and come right back to the shop to grab a juice and say hi – hoping that the people inside didn’t think we were crazy. The dry cleaning took only a few minutes and we were back in front of the juice stand.

We stepped up to the counter and tentatively said, “uh, my friend Julie said we should stop by here…” Suddenly, it was like we were back at home and had just bumped into a few of our dearest friends. Itsik rolled out the red carpet and he and Sharon whipped up the best tasting juice combo ever in existence! Due to our tight schedule, we couldn’t spend much time chatting, but we quickly decided that these people personified love and joy. They were so excited to see us, to have a chance to spend time. They asked us to stay. Taught us some Hebrew phrases and were impressed (or pretended to be) that we already knew some of the names of the fruits and veggies that they were using in the juice.

What are the odds that we would end up in front of the exact juice stand where the people there have such a close connection to our dear friend back home? What are the odds that we would end up there, that they would be open at 8:30 in the morning in the middle of COVID-19 restrictions when so many other small businesses aren’t operating? That our regular parking spot wouldn’t be open and we would miss a parking spot on the other side of the street when we were specifically looking for a parking spot? I’d say, when you serve HaShem and He is ready for you to meet someone, the chances of it happening are 100 percent.

I was blown away. In the middle of our hectic schedule, on a day that was already jam packed with things to do and places to be, He reminded us of His love and His provision for us on this journey. He reminded us that He is directing even the most mundane of our tasks and the least exciting moments to bring us into alignment with His goals for our time here. Who am I that He would love me like this? And, why does He remind me of it over and over?

Is there any response other than overwhelming gratitude… especially knowing that we do not deserve His affection or His attention?

When was the last time He did something like this for you? We would love to hear about it!

And, to Itsik and Sharon – please continue to share your joy, love and light in these dark days. You brought the brightest light to our day and probably even our week in just five minutes’ time. You are a blessing. You are the people that I strive to be every day. Thank you!

P.S. Julie, I miss you! Thank you for mentioning Itsik’s place, showing me the picture (because that is how I recognized it) and raving about the amazing people here! Your friendship is literally opening doors in your absence. I’ve never met anyone who works so hard while they are sleeping!