Sunday, Day 2: Tears in the Park

It felt sooooo good to sleep in, and to recover a bit from the (delayed) flights here, late night supply run, late night to bed. Bagels for breakfast, and after a good bit of prep, headed to the Metro. Oh, just missed that one…guess we’ll have to wait. Let’s see, another 13 minutes…oh well. Not much to do. That’s okay, no big rush. The kids are looking around with fascination. This is all new to most of them. Farthest trip for all but the oldest, who went to Russia with me last year. Ah, here it comes. Get our seats. Here we go!

We walked a fair amount today, covering the DC Mall, seeing the memorials, going past the White House.

No more free tickets for the Washington Memorial, but we did look at it. Then to the steps of Lincoln Memorial, where we had our PBJ sandwiches. The sun was out, the wind blowing, but really a very nice spring day in DC. We soaked it in!

After consuming his allotted portion, Zane went walking on his own. Having been confined to his stroller for most of the morning, he reveled in freedom! Around the steps, up and down he went, approaching a variety of folks, but not stopping to “visit” until he came across a younger woman sitting by herself. Maybe 22 or 23, she seemed, I don’t know, detached. She was absorbed, or tired, as she sat looking over the reflecting waters without much focus or reaction. Until Zane. When he came by, her countenance changed. She engaged a bit. She made eye contact with him. She smiled a little.

Normally he ignores such overtures of friendliness, preferring to keep to himself and the task at hand – in this case, exploring. I don’t know why, but he deemed it best to sit down by her. Plop. He didn’t seem to want anything. Just seemed to sense it was a good thing to do. And there he parked.

One minute, two minutes went by. He sat there, just content as could be. Not sure he felt anything in particular, but as the moments went by, I wondered if he had an awareness of the affect he was having. I noticed she started to tear up a bit, and she wiped her face with her hand. Why, I do not know.

Perhaps she had a child at home about the same age and just enjoyed being around little ones. Or she might have lost a baby to miscarriage or abortion, and as she was so physically close to Zane, was thinking about what might have been if she had that baby in her arms right now. Could be that she was lonely, and felt that the boy’s presence was comforting, a sign that someone does care, even if it is a toddler. For whatever reason, it seemed right to let Zane sit there. After a few minutes I convinced him it was time to move on. So, he took my hand and off we went, in other directions, to see other sights.

As we walked along, I prayed. Asked God to show me what, if anything else, I was to do. Maybe engage her in a brief conversation? Ask if she is in need? It was awkward, as I am a guy, and she might be threatened. Or she could misunderstand my intentions. That wouldn’t be good. Certainly I’ll talk to my wife – maybe she will have an idea. She is always picking up on people’s real needs, and is sensitive. She’ll know what to do.

A few minutes later, though, a young man came up to the girl. Obviously a lover. I watched them interact from a distance, and wondered what was being said. Then, she pointed at Zane, probably explaining to her boyfriend (husband?) what had happened. The effect was still lingering, as the man patted her on the leg, and seemed to be offering comfort. They talked and then, after about 10 minutes, they started to slowly walk away toward another part of the mall.

Why was she moved so by a little boy? I wondered. Although there may have been nothing significant going on, it surely seemed that more was taking place than was apparent. I thanked God for what could have been His hand at work, divinely ordering events to touch a hurting heart. And I thanked Him for using my little man to maybe even accomplish something for His Kingdom. That was fun to watch. I hope I can see that again. Maybe tomorrow, Lord?