---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When they reached the lobby and the doors…"
description: "\"“When they reached the lobby and the doors opened I knew they were meant to be there, the four of them, alone.”\" — Alice Sebold"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/alice-sebold-999_lobby_when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-door_468198.jpg"
---

#  When they reached the lobby and the doors opened I knew…

![“When they reached the lobby and the doors opened I knew they were meant to be there, the four of them, alone.” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/alice-sebold-999_lobby_when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-door_468198.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/alice-sebold-999_lobby_when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-door_468198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/alice-sebold-999_lobby_when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-door_468198.jpg)

> ““When they reached the lobby and the doors opened I knew they were meant to be there, the four of them, alone.””

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A moment of destiny is recognized when circumstances align perfectly for a specific group.

**In simple terms:** Recognizing a fated meeting.

Key Takeaway

Trust intuition when signs align.

Themes

destiny coincidence relationships

Mood

mystical reflective

Type

narrative emotional

When to use this quote

- meeting new partners
- team formation
- critical decisions
- life turning points

Key Concepts

fate synchronicity group dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- What signs do you notice before important gatherings?
- How do you decide when to trust such moments?

A Different Perspective

Interpretation may be subjective; not all coincidences imply purpose.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [“When we reached the lobby outside the office, moving like a pair of power walkers--no running in the halls of Green Pastures because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-juby/when-we-reached-the-lobby-outside-the-office-moving-like-a-pair-of/)

[Susan Juby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-juby/)

> [Friend, you are a divine mingle-mangle of guts and stardust. So hang in there! If doors opened for me, they can open for anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/friend-you-are-a-divine-mingle-mangle-of-guts-and-stardust-so-hang-in/)

[Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/)

> [There have been some doors opened to us as a result of our being a minority-owned business. But that's not going to sustain us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steward/there-have-been-some-doors-opened-to-us-as-a-result-of-our-being-a/)

[David Steward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steward/)

> [And the doors opened like they've been shut for a long time.. long enough to slip into another reality or long enough to gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/and-the-doors-opened-like-they-ve-been-shut-for-a-long-time-long/)

[Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/)

> [I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/i-feel-very-adventurous-there-are-so-many-doors-to-be-opened-and-i-m/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [I'm going to stay here and see if he comes back," Wrath said as the double doors opened and V strode in. "I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/i-m-going-to-stay-here-and-see-if-he-comes-back-wrath-said-as-the/)

[J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/)

> [I don't seem to have ever had a plan, but I have always been quite good at walking through doors when they are opened.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-fellowes/i-don-t-seem-to-have-ever-had-a-plan-but-i-have-always-been-quite/)

[Julian Fellowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-fellowes/)

> [“The doors opened with a soft whir. “So what’s your favorite Synism?” she asked, stepping into the lift. A corner of his mouth twitched.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-doors-opened-with-a-soft-whir-so-what-s-your-favorite-synism-she/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [I see things differently when I'm focused on opening doors for other people, and more often than not, my doors are opened as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-see-things-differently-when-i-m-focused-on-opening-doors-for-other/)

[Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/)

> [I think so many doors have been opened for the gay community as far as the dangers and horrors of HIV. There is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-benjamin-hickey/i-think-so-many-doors-have-been-opened-for-the-gay-community-as-far/)

[John Benjamin Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-benjamin-hickey/)

> [The doors will be opened to those who are bold enough to knock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-gaskins/the-doors-will-be-opened-to-those-who-are-bold-enough-to-knock/)

[Tony Gaskins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-gaskins/)

> [Hmmm! when u welcome someone it means that there arr cretin doors that u have opened but when u say it with luv then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sardar-hyder-abbas/hmmm-when-u-welcome-someone-it-means-that-there-arr-cretin-doors-that/)

[Sardar Hyder Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sardar-hyder-abbas/)

> [“The elevator doors opened, and I squeezed myself out before pulling out the Wardrober. It was heavy. “What do you have in there?” I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-gow/the-elevator-doors-opened-and-i-squeezed-myself-out-before-pulling/)

[Kailin Gow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-gow/)

> [“I wondered if he was opposed to nicknames for people in general, or if he just knew the weight of using a proper name—the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurelin-paige/i-wondered-if-he-was-opposed-to-nicknames-for-people-in-general-or-if/)

[Laurelin Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurelin-paige/)

> [It was a terrible blow that was dealt when I was fired from 'Saturday Night Live', but I have to say that a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-cusack/it-was-a-terrible-blow-that-was-dealt-when-i-was-fired-from-saturday/)

[Joan Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-cusack/)

## More by Alice Sebold

> [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

[Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

## More Lobby quotes

> [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/)

[John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/)

> [If high-tech companies are serious about doing the right thing, they can join together and lobby for more transparency and accountability in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-high-tech-companies-are-serious-about-doing-the-right-thing-they/)

[Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/)

> [We need a modern people's lobby that empowers all of us to choose our leaders and set our agenda. Imagine voting for a president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pincus/we-need-a-modern-people-s-lobby-that-empowers-all-of-us-to-choose-our/)

[Mark Pincus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pincus/)

> [It is by God's grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured. Therefore, we seek to honor God by operating the company in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-green/it-is-by-god-s-grace-and-provision-that-hobby-lobby-has-endured/)

[David Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-green/)

> [Concealed carry reciprocity is a dream for the gun lobby lobbyists and a nightmare for public safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-mcbath/concealed-carry-reciprocity-is-a-dream-for-the-gun-lobby-lobbyists/)

[Lucy McBath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-mcbath/)

> [“When there’s a vacuum of public input, lobbyists usually fill it. But when there’s public input, the people usually win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-carroll/when-there-s-a-vacuum-of-public-input-lobbyists-usually-fill-it-but/)

Morgan Carroll

> [The entertainment lobby has bullied Sweden around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sunde/the-entertainment-lobby-has-bullied-sweden-around/)

[Peter Sunde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sunde/)

> [I just want to lobby for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-just-want-to-lobby-for-god/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [“You live in the greatest museum imaginable. Isn't it time you left the lobby and took a look at some of the incredible exhibits?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-lizzi/you-live-in-the-greatest-museum-imaginable-isn-t-it-time-you-left-the/)

Ron Lizzi

> [“RECEPTIONIST LOOKED RIGHT through me as I crossed the carpeted lobby between glass-cased tanker models and clipper ship prints. I winked at her, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hjortsberg/receptionist-looked-right-through-me-as-i-crossed-the-carpeted-lobby/)

[William Hjortsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hjortsberg/)

> [Public employee unions are hardly the only group involved in bare-knuckles politics. Businesses lobby fiercely, and executives make hefty campaign donations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/public-employee-unions-are-hardly-the-only-group-involved-in-bare/)

[Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/)

> [For twenty years it had been generally known that an insidious Lobby was maintained in Washington to influence legislation and executive action on behalf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-case-harriman/for-twenty-years-it-had-been-generally-known-that-an-insidious-lobby/)

[Margaret Case Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-case-harriman/)

> [I believe if you go to a movie theatre, and you see something you think is incredible, if you walk out of the theatre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/i-believe-if-you-go-to-a-movie-theatre-and-you-see-something-you/)

[Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/)

> [It becomes difficult for a woman to become part of a lobby without eyebrows being raised. Even if she has proved herself with sheer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagma/it-becomes-difficult-for-a-woman-to-become-part-of-a-lobby-without/)

[Nagma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagma/)

> [I know the power of the Israeli lobby and the other lobbies, but we need a foreign policy that puts our own country first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/i-know-the-power-of-the-israeli-lobby-and-the-other-lobbies-but-we/)

[Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/)

Browse all 98 Lobby quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“When they reached the lobby and the doors opened I knew they were meant to be there, the four of them, alone.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alice Sebold"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-doors-opened-i-knew-they-were/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Lobby"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-doors-opened-i-knew-they-were/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/alice-sebold-999_lobby_when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-door_468198.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/alice-sebold-999_lobby_when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-door_468198.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/alice-sebold-999_lobby_when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-door_468198.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When they reached the lobby and the doors opened I knew they were meant to be there, the four of them, alone.” — Alice Sebold",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alice Sebold",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“When they reached the lobby and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-doors-opened-i-knew-they-were/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/when-they-reached-the-lobby-and-the-doors-opened-i-knew-they-were/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
