It’s not easy to describe to someone who doesn’t live here what life is like. Today, I had one of those moments that helps to illuminate what is hard to put into words.

The same woman worked at the check-out counter at our grocery store for years. About a year ago, the store changed ownership and she went to work at a store in Efrat, one town over.

I haven’t seen her since she left. Today, for the first time, Josh and I went into that store, and I was excited to spot Shulamit. We caught up a bit, talking about her job, about Neve Daniel and about the new year.

Then she said, “And how is Stella?”

And I had to laugh.

She’s the grocery check-out clerk. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that most people around the world don’t know the check-out clerk at their grocery store.

And here she was, having not been in the community for a year, having not once seen me or Stella, asking me how Stella was doing.

When I laughed, she looked at me like I was crazy. Of course she was asking me about Stella – why wouldn’t she be?

And that, in a nutshell, is what daily life is like for us.

Yes, even the check-out lady knows who needs extra prayers during the year in our community in Neve Daniel.