When words fail...

They sat sobbing on the steps of Greg Hall. My heart swelled with compassion-- just not enough to stop. Besides, I was already late to Arabic class. My mind swam with questions wondering why these two girls were so broken... why were they crying? My pace slowed until I couldn't bring myself to put one leg in front of the other. I had to go back.

I had to.

And do what? I wasn't sure... they probably wouldn't want to talk, I tried to convince myself to just keep going. But I couldn't. Before I knew it, I was walking away from Arabic class toward these two girls. I came up to them and simply asked, "Hi guys. Is there anything I can do for you? Can I help in anyway?" They shook their heads and burst into a new set of tears.

I set my backpack down and sat on the steps with them. The tears flowed from a pained heart-- a raw heart.

"Our friend from home just died... brain damage... car accident..."

I sucked in a breath and placed my hand on her back. At my touch, a fresh round of tears erupted. I sat with them... mostly in quiet... at times responding to their comments. Not sure how long it was... could have been minutes, could have been a quarter of an hour, they stood up and said they were going to head back home.

In between sobs they thanked me and turned to leave.

My heart twisted inside. I wish I could have done something... they were on my heart all day and I couldn't get them out of my mind.

I turned and headed toward Arabic class.