Jerusalem; 2024; 19.5″ x 25.5″; mixed media: watercolor, ink, chalk, acrylic.

Three of us walk its busy streets at dusk, life pulsing all around. Cars revving, children laughing as they swing in a park, light fading over a vast city.

We follow our map down a quieter lane to an obscure gate in a wall, unmarked.

“Are you sure this is it?” Are we about to barge into a private residence? Arrive unannounced upon a random family, eating their dinner?

I look behind us. Two people walk down the street, talking to each other, taking no notice of us. As if we know where we are, belong here.

She turns the knob on the gate, and we step into a small, deserted courtyard. An open door beckons us to enter. Inside, an empty hallway stretches, rooms silent behind closed doors. But from a staircase, voices and musical notes drift down.

This way, she motions with her hand, whispers, “This must be it.”

We follow her up the steps and into a room, lined with rows of chairs, dotted with a few people. A woman at the front, perched at a piano, lifts her voice. We settle into seats, observing.

Beyond this glass-lined space, designated for 24-hour worship at the International House of Prayer, the Dome of the Rock shrine sparkles in the setting sun, the Temple Mount and all of Jerusalem sprawling around it. Hills roll, covered with trees, stippled with buildings.

My heart hovers, listening, then merges into the music of the lone woman’s voice, the lilt of notes released by her hands. Soon, I stand to my feet, unable to contain the wash of longing pouring through the room, through me.

It’s as if He stands there, on the hilltop with us, looking out over the panorama, seeking each person scattered throughout it. As if He is crying out again and again, “Oh Jerusalem, if only you had known what would lead to your peace.”

His yearning becomes mine.

Until it flows into the hope of another day, a day soon and coming. When at last the love and presence of God will conquer all barriers of religion and crash over His beloved city, like a tidal wave. When at last all His hopes and dreams for this city at the heart of history will find fulfillment.

Then, once again, I will stand looking out over Jerusalem. Rejoicing in His long-awaited gathering. The day, when at last, peace will come to Jerusalem.